Through Demon Eyes
by JourneyFawkes
Summary: Naruto opened his eyes to a red sky and orange clouds, "Welcome to my world Kit, the World of demons." How did he get here? How will he get out! Kyuubi/Naruto father/son relationship, yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto glanced at the missing nin they had been hunting, then to the eight year old he held hostage.

The boy was silently crying and Naruto could imagine him wanting his family. He yearned to reach for the child and take him to his waiting parents, who would snatch their child from his arms once the recognized him.

But Kakashi-sensei had warned them about this; ninjas had to make sacrifices to obtain their targets. It was a sad truth that not many heard about. Ninja sacrificing small villages, families, comrades, or even their own life's for the sake of the mission.

"Give us the child and maybe we can talk." Kakashi-sensei yelled across to the desperate man.

A lie. Naruto knew the kid probably wouldn't live if the missing nin did not give up willingly.

He let his eyes look towards his teammates, Sasuke was hard and focused, ready to kill; Sakura was pale, her fingers twitching and her eyes kept shifting towards the boy.

"A-alright! Take the boy!" the man yelled and shoved the kid forward. Naruto faintly heard the sizzle of burning paper and barely caught the smell of smoke.

The nin had stuck a paper bomb to the childs back… just as they had predicted. In seconds Naruto reviewed the plan in his mind. He should jump over the released captive, make two kage-bunshin, and grab the nin while Sasuke charges with his attack. Kakashi and Sakura would spread out behind them, just incase the missing nin got loose.

He should… but he didn't. As soon as the boy took two stumbling steps, he lunged forward and grabbed the child in his arms.

"Naruto!" he ignored Kakashi's yell while he ripped the bomb off and wrapped himself protectively around the kid.

The bomb activated and he felt a burning sensation on his back before he was threw away by the after shock. He stuck a wall and heard a loud crack. A warm liquid ran down his neck as he slid down the wall and landed roughly on the ground. Darkness swept him away before the pain could reach him: he faintly heard crying, causing him to smile at that sound of life, before all thoughts stopped completely.

"Naruto!" Kakashi watched in horror as the bomb blew up and he had to throw his arms in front of his face because of the explosion. He was aware of the orange blur that flew past and he heard a loud crack, which he hoped was the wall Naruto had landed on.

"Saskue! Sakura! Get the missing nin!" Sasuke attacked the retreating man and had him pinned on the ground with a kuni at his throat within ten seconds, Sakura came out of shock and ran to obey orders. Kakashi ran towards where he saw Naruto fly past. He saw the rock wall Naruto had hit, blood was streaked down one spot, Naruto was on the ground with the hostage still clutched loosely in his arms. The boy clutched his savior's jacket, his head buried in Narito's chest, still crying.

Kakashi pried the child away and told him to sit still, then gently rolled Naruto onto his back and grabbed his wrist. There was a pulse, but it was slowing and he saw that Naruto was already becoming paler. He felt his throat go dry as the pulse stopped and saw his student's chest stop falling. He dropped the small hand, and felt his own tremble, he didn't know if it was from anger or sadness.

He bowed his head and was about to yell out in anger when a feeling of pure killer instinct washed over him. It made him freeze and want to run at the same time, but he swallowed the impulse and slowly looked towards Naruto. But all he saw was a Naruto covered in red chakra, it swirled around him like a figure caressing a child. Slowly, the boy's chest begin to rise and fall again, Kakashi never thought he would thank Kami for the Kyuubi. The demon chakra receded and the malice seemed to drift away.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Kakashi looked up to see Sakura running up towards them with Sauske dragging the rogue ninja behind him, non to gently. She stopped infront of them and covered her mouth in a silent scream; he looked down to see what was wrong and noticed he was kneeling in a pool of blood.

"Sakura it-"before he could finish she burst into tears! He grabbed her before she could jump on Naruto and injure him more, Sasuke froze and stared at Naruto. Sakura grabbed her sensei's jacket and made small sobbing sounds; Kakashi dropped to her level and stroked her hair reassuringly.

"Its ok Sakura-chan. He's alive, but we have to get him to the village." He looked towards Sasuke, "Pick up Naruto. We will drop the kid off; I want you to hurry back into Kohana."

Sasuke gently cradled Naruto then jumped off towards the trees and headed towards the village at record speed.

**Alright chapter one! It's very short, more like a prolog then anything else, but the others will be a lot longer. If you like what you hear so far send me a message, the next chapter will probably be up today also. Now there is a KakaSaku hint in here, but they are not part of the story, I just couldn't resist! X3 There will be very lil of that, and there in not much pairings in this story, just a few hints and stuff. If you see anything wrong with the story, spelling, grammar, you can send me a pm, I don't mind, it will help me to improve. Thank you for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**IMPOTANT!! PLEASE READ!**

**Chapter two! Now I must remind you reader that this is a Kyuubi/Naruto father and son relationship. In most of my fics I will write, Kyuubi does help him or acts like a fatherly figure. I would like to thank everyone that has review so far! It helped me finish this faster! Please review me if you have any suggestion or what Naruto could do while in the demon world, I am open for suggestions! I need some ideas or inspiration to do the next chapters. I'm sorry this is sorta crammed all together, but I had to get a lot of explanations' cleared up in this chapter, I promise they all won't be like this. X3 If you have read my fic "Words of a child", you should understand Shikamaru's place in this chapter. Please enjoy this chapter and send me a review if you see something wrong or would like give me an idea, or just to tell me you liked it! **

Naruto opened his eyes and saw a red sky with orange clouds staring back at him.

"Kit?...Kit have you awakened?" he heard a smooth voice near him and he rose up. He shook his head, trying to rid it of the dizziness.

""Kit?" This time he looked towards where the sound was coming from and saw a familiar fox looking down at him.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto groaned out, the grass under him, although it was brown, was very soft and he would have preferred to go back to sleep.

'Wait..grass?!' He looked around, shocked, and saw plains of brown grass with huge trees covered in brown leafs. He looked back towards Kyuubi and noticed that he was a lot smaller then usual. If he stood up he would probably reach Kakashi's shoulders, not including his long ears and nine tails he bore.

"Wh-wheres the cell?!" Naruto asked suddenly afraid.

"We are not in your mind Kit. We are in my world, the world of Demons." Kyuubi replied.

Suddenly Naruto felt like he could faint.

Kakashi looked down at the slumbering blonde. Any other human would have died from having his skull cracked in half, but not him. The sever third degree burns on his back had become very light pink marks and were getting smaller as time passed. The only big problem he seemed to have was a deep coma.

Looking at his student, he could see a resemblance in Naruto's hair to his friend's Obito. They both defied gravity and loved to break the law. He smiled sadly and moved a stray hair from the blondes face.

He thought of the mission, it didn't have to of ended this way… There were many things he could have done to save the boy; he was going to save the kid anyway. He just wanted to see if his team could follow those orders. It was a tough lesson to teach, and he didn't know if he should be upset or proud that Naruto had disobeyed orders.

The door opened and Kakashi sensed the familiar chakra of Sasuke enter the small hospital room. He had asked to have his team under a short vacation so one of them could be with Naruto at all times. They didn't quite understand why, but he did not tell them that he could not trust that the nurses and doctors would make sure the villagers didn't come because they thought Naruto wasn't dead enough.

"You're late Sasuke. That's usually my thing..." he looked at Sasuke and saw he had a bag in his hands.

"Hn. There's parties everywhere and Hokage-sama told me to bring this." He held up a goofy looking night cap, "She also said she would have someone watch the Dope's apartment." Kakashi smiled and watched Sasuke sit in the chair in front of the small bed.

"Is Sakura-chan alright?" he asked on his way to the door.

"Haven't seen her."

"Well I'll go check on her then." Before he could open the door to leave, Sasuke made a noise.

"What is everyone celebrating Sensei? October 10th is not for two more weeks."

Kakashi smiled sadly, but did not respond, instead he opened the door and left.

Sasuke found himself watching Naruto breath. He could still feel the light body in his arms and the blood that had soaked through his clothes.

When he had brought Naruto to the hospital the stupid nurse had asked if **he **was ok, she had almost seemed to ignore the bleeding boy in his arms! He was beginning to get agitated with this hospital. A knock sounded and he almost growled for them to come in. He was going to yell at the nurse, but was surprised to see the Hyuuga girl instead.

"Um, h-hello Uchiha-san." At this she gave a deep bow, "How is N-Naruto-san?" she looked towards the boy in question, who was still sound asleep.

"I don't know, a nurse hasn't come in since I got here. How did you get in? It's not visiting hours." Hinata blushed and twiddled her fingers.

"um, um, N-Nara-san snuck me i-in. He-He said he wa-wanted me to check some of Na-Naruto-san's wounds. I to-told him the doctors would han-andle it b-but he said for me to d-do it." She began to squirm more noticeably from his intense stare.

"Where is Shikamaru now?" Sasuke asked, suspicious.

"Oh! H-he's guarding the door." She looked behind her back towards the door.

"Just check him." Sasuke moved aside and let her near the sleeping boy. He watched as she activated her byukugan and she looked over him. She then dug in her bag she had brought and grabbed little containers, even mixing a few. She laid some on the table and put most back in her bag.

"Give N-Naruto-san this when ever he gets a fever and have him drink this, h-his chakra is swirling f-funny and this should calm it down a little." She bowed then turned to Naruto, her face lit up and she bowed to him too.

"G-good luck N-Naruto-san." She whispered, a knock sounded and she grabbed her bag. But she stopped at the door.

"I-If you talk to a-a person in a coma, t-they will wa-wake up." Then she hurried out of the room and Sasuke barely caught a glimpse of Shikamaru before they were both gone.

He turned back to Naruto and sat back down in the chair. He stared at the Dope for more then 15 minutes before he reached a hand out and moved a stray hair from the others face.

"Naruto… you're an idiot."

"Wha?! How did I- Ah!!" Naruto felt his self began to panic and was about to bolt, but Kyuubi nuzzled it's snout to his cheek and it had a surprisingly calming affect.

"I do not know Kit. We were dying, after one of your stupid stunts, and I brought you back. Then we were here. Do not worry Kit, no one will kill you." Kyuubi told him like it was an obvious fact.

"Why?! I'm not a demon! I-" A loud growl stopped his rant and he froze.

"**You **have large chakra coils like a demon. **You** have chakra color like a demon. **You** bare my mark. You are as much demon as you are human!" Naruto stared at Kyuubi's outburst. Kyuubi had never had such an episode when they talked before. He was about to voice a denial but the demon fox interrupted again.

"If you do not believe me, then take a look for your self." He directed his head towards the left and Naruto followed his gaze warily. A large pond was a few feet away. He moved towards it cautiously and peered inside the clear, almost white, water. But instead of seeing himself, he saw a blonde fox staring at him.

Kyuubi was pretty sure most of the demon world heard the scream Naruto let out.

"How could this happen?! What did you do furba-" Naruto turned around to yell at the fox, but all he saw was a handsome man. The man was tall and wore a black formal kimono; he had long red hair and had red eyes. But the odd thing was the long fox ears and nines tails he had.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked confused.

"Yes, this is my other form, the human form. You-" Kyuubi suddenly stopped and his fox ears perked up. Then his face seemed to grow fur while it reformed; His hands and feet became smaller until they were paws again. It didn't take more then 10 seconds, it was like he just slid into another body!

The fox looked at him "Come, this is not my land and we are not welcomed here." A loud roar was sounded from a distance, so Naruto didn't hesitate to obey.

They ran for the trees and he wondered why he had not noticed before he was on four legs. It was so natural, sure he did it when he and his team had to run through trees, but this should be harder…

"Stay on guard Kit, I do not know what has changed since I was sealed away within you. We may be attacked.

Naruto looked at Kyuubi in horror, "I thought you said this was your land!"

"It is, I still am the nine-tailed fox, but I have not been here to protect my right! Someone may have decided to take the position." Kyuubi growled.

They ran for miles, getting deeper in the forest. Naruto was just about to complain when the bigger fox suddenly stopped.

"Now Kit, I need you to walk behind me when we enter the clearing. Hold your head high and do not speak at all. This is a dangerous situation we're about to enter, so if you want to live do what I say." Naruto bit down the instinct to protest and do the exact opposite. He really didn't feel like dying today.

Kyuubi led them forward and they entered a clearing in the middle of the dense forest. Naruto almost ran back in the trees at what he saw. There were foxes of different sizes, and color lying beside each other, some wrestling. There were even men and women with fox ears and tails wandering around. It was like a little village with no houses!

But what stood out the most was the seven tailed gray fox sitting on a ledge that looked out over the whole clearing. Many of the demons gasped as he and Kyuubi walked by, some even bowed. A quite murmuring flowed and many stopped what they were doing to stare, Naruto could feel many curious looks directed towards himself.

Suddenly the other fox, which Naruto had assumed was old because of his color, hopped down from his perch and transformed. A young gray haired man with yellow eyes and many scars approached them. His ears and tails were the same as his hair and he wore a dark blue kimono. He had short hair, unlike most of the demons Naruto could see in human form.

"I see you have returned Kyubi." The seven-tail smiled, revealing sharp teeth, Naruto vaguely wondered what his teeth looked like now.

"I have indeed, Akyuudo, and I would appreciate it if you stepped down form my title." Kyuubi retorted smoothly. A low growl emitted from the other man and his yellow eyes seemed to bore holes in to Naruto.

Suddenly he charged forward, transforming back into a fox! But Kyuubi was prepared; he transformed and dodged the attack. The two demons began to pace in a small circle, the gray one growling and Kyuubi circling silently. Kyuubi jumped forward and the other fox slashed out with his claws, but the bigger fox had already launched to the side. He twisted and had Akyuudo by the neck before anyone could process what really had happened.

"You have lost." Kyuubi let go and motioned for Naruto to follow him.

As they walked by the defeted seven tails, he growled at Naruto and slashed out with his claws. A monstrous roar was sounded behind him and he saw one of Kyuubi's red tails grab the paw. Kyuubi jumped on the terrified fox and grabbed him by the throat again, this time he ripped back his head and tour the demons throat, killing him instantly.

The nine tailed fox got off the corpse and continued walking, Naruto followed, trying to hold back his fear. The other demons cheered and bowed down on the ground towards their direction. Once they got to the mouth of the cave over looking the clearing Kyuubi stopped. He looked towards his people and shook all his nine tails and let out a fearsome roar; receiving many in return.

Once inside Naruto couldn't control himself any longer, "Why did you kill him?!"

Kyuubi turned back into the handsome man, "He attacked you after he had lost, it is a huge insult towards me."

"That's no reason to kill him! You could have done something else!" Naruto yelled, becoming angry.

"Kit, if I had not killed him, then he would have killed you." He held up a hand to silence Naruto's denial, "If not then, he would have come after you later. You do not understand the ways of demon." Naruto's anger quickly drained.

"You are not safe yet Kit, first you must transform in to your human form. My people are expecting to see you today." Kyuubi looked at the mouth of the cave and made a soft whistle; an orange three-tailed fox enter the cave.

"You summoned me my lord?"

"Find my Kit a suitable Kimono." The fox bowed its head low to Kyuubi and turned to Naruto to also bow low; then it ran out of the cave to obey.

"Now, since you are a ninja and have been practicing chakra control, this should be easy. Focus all your chakra to on point in your stomach; then force it to mold into the shape of a human. Do not stop until you have taken complete from."

"But-"

"You must do this before the three-tails comes back!" Kyuubi's stern look gave Naruto the idea of the importance of the matter.

He reached for his chakra; feeling the familiar swirl he forced it to flow in a different shape, to fit in a different body. He could feel his small form morphing to fit the chakra, he watched as his paws turned in a hand. It felt like he was just sliding into another body completely, like bunshin, but solid.

Once the process was complete he inspected himself. He was naked, but it didn't bother him since Kyuubi had been with him all his life anyway, a blonde fox tail flicked around his legs and he reached for his hair; large fox ears twitched under his touch and made him want to giggle. He stayed seated on the ground and looked towards Kyuubi. The fox gave him a nod of approval and opened his mouth to say something but a woman with orange hair and three tails ran in.

"I found the most beautiful light blue kimono for the young prince, and a few trinkets." She walked over to Naruto and he flinched away when her hand came towards him.

"It's alright, she is only going to dress you Kit. He is not use to such things from our traveling." Kyuubi smiled warmly and Naruto let the women help him up.

He was suited in a long blue kimono, which matched his eyes; a winding collar was fit on his neck, it twisted and turned in a pretty design and a small chain fell from the bottom tip, a blue sapphire was attached at the end. She also gave him two tight ankle bracelets, even though they could not be seen from under the kimono; they were gold like the collar. Last she placed a thin gold head band around his forehead, a tiny sapphire dangled from a small chain between his eyes.

She smiled and moved on to Kyuubi, Naruto twisted and turned, the kimono was very comfortable but reached past his feet. When he looked at Kyuubi he saw that he now had a gold band on each of the two front sections of his hair that hung in front of his shoulders and he had a new black kimono that hung loosely. The man looked like an actual king in some twisted way. The women bowed and transformed back into the orange fox, then exited the cave with a fox grin set on her face. Naruto always wondered what people meant by his "Fox grin".

"Why?... Why are you helping me now Kyuubi? We are back in the demon world; could you not just kill me?" Naruto asked, he had wondered why Kyuubi had not killed him since it would mean he would not also die now.

The great fox turned towards him, a scowl on his beautiful face, "I know just as much as you do, I do not know if I would die if I killed you while we were here or if I would be free. But, I would not kill you either way Kit. You bare my marks, my chakra flows through your veins, you are just as much mine as you were to your blood parents. Besides, the people would love to have a blonde fox as a set heir, such a rare color." Kyuubi made a purring noise, almost like a laugh.

Naruto stood there shocked, of course he had had conversations with the fox back in his world, and Kyuubi had always been there for him. But he always thought if the demon had one chance, it would kill him, guilt started to build its way to his stomach.

"Would you like to see the village Kit? They are expecting you." Kyuubi began walking towards the mouth of the cave and Naruto followed, scared of being left alone.

As soon as they were out of the cave a swarm of adults surrounded them, many reached out to shake Kyuubi's hand, others punched his shoulder playfully, some bowed, and many of the looked like they would explode from questions.

One came forward, a brown four-tail beautiful women, "Where have you been for all this time Kyuubi-sama? To think we had to follow orders from a seven-tail, the shame!"

"I do not wish to talk of my travels or of the happening of my Kit." Kyuubi stated bluntly, and no one seemed upset or of wanting to argue. The people just turned to look at Naruto, he could feel his face turn red.

An orange four-tailed man smiled, "You know Kyuubi-sama, my daughter would make a pretty mate for your Kit, What is his name?" Many of the demons voiced an objection and offered there daughters, some even offered their sons! Naruto could defiantly feel his face turn red now.

Kyuubi cleared his throat and the fighting stopped, "My Kit will decide his mate. His name is Naruto." Naruto moved behind Kyuubi more, his face becoming unbearably hot and many of the adults laughed.

"If you will excuse us, I would like to get acquainted with my village again." Kyuubi moved forward and everyone cleared out of their path. He led Naruto through the clearing, sometimes through the woods to certain spots where a river or pond was. There were children running all over the place, some as foxes; they came in all ages, even his own. Everyone stopped to stare at them, mainly Naruto, some kids waved or brought Kyuubi wild flowers, he was very popular around the children and women Naruto observed. The village was very beautiful, even though it looked more like it was fall, and was very much alive; but by the time Kyuubi had showed him most of the terrain it was nightfall, and they were headed back to the cave.

Kyuubi switched back to his fox form and lied down on the ground, Naruto took it as a cue and slipped back into his blonde fox form, it was much easier then turning into a human.

"Kyuubi-san, why did they offer their daughters and sons to me?" It had nagged Naruto all day.

The Fox made a sort of laughing sound, "I think they were offering you to be the mate to their sons. It is because you are my Kit. In the demon world the more tails you have the more power you have. Shukaku being the lowest, the toughest one-tail is their leader so they are always fighting; the highest being Kyuubi, if you have the highest number of tails you are the leader."

"But then why do they want me? I'm a one-tail?"

"As the Kit to the current leader, you are presumed to be strong because I would train you, wanting you to be the heir after my time. Most of the time there is an heir, unless a fox kills the leader. Go to sleep for now Kit, it will be cold tonight."

Naruto yawned and curled up in a tight ball, it was already getting cold and he shivered through his fur. Kyuubi made a snort kind of sound and he could hear footsteps, then he felt the warmth wash over him. Kyuubi wrapped a tail around Naruto and pulled him closer, he stiffened, he had never had anyone so close to him before or hold him like a parent would a cold child. But he couldn't help but melt in to the long wanted touch.

"Hey Kyuu?" Naruto asked as sleep began to overcome him, he was very comfortable, "Where you an heir?"

Kyuubi nozzled Naruto with his snout then lied his head down. Naruto worried that he had asked the wrong question and feared Kyuubi would leave, when he didn't move Naruto felt himself drift towards sleep.

"No, I killed the last Kyuubi."


	3. Chapter 3

_'Run.' That was all he could think and all he could do._

_"Faster" he pleaded to himself. But his small legs just could not move fast enough. Although he had an advantage in speed over the rest of the kids his age, it was not enough to outrun all his tormentors. _

_He dodged around the other villagers, not bothering to yell out or beg for help; he had learned early in life that it would not come, only bring more hunters. Swooping, ducking, but never shoving, he maneuvered through the maze of people. No one helped him, some would try to get in his way or trip him. Their faces would all look at him differently. There were those who seemed to be ignoring the running child, annoyed when he got past them, excited by the chase, victorious at his punishment, or snide at his presence._

_A well-aimed foot suddenly sent him flying. His small hands reached towards the ground, in hopes of catching himself and continue on running. Before he could reach the ground however, a hand grabbed the back of his collar and hurled him into a near by ally. His body hit the wall, and a loud snap told him his arm was broken. He bit his lip to keep from crying, the punishment only got worse if he shed tears. Laughter rang out and he heard victorious yells as men gathered around him. _

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" no matter how much he admitted shame for the crime he did not know he had committed, the laughter only got louder.

"Kit?"

Naruto jolted awake. He automatically froze, confused at his surroundings. The feel and smell of soft dirt told him he was no longer on his hard hotel bed, the soft chirping outside hinted towards him being in the woods, but the warmth around him was confusing. He vaguely wondered if the hunters had taken him outside Kohona walls… that would be a first. His eyes squeezed tighter, afraid to see what was coming.

"It is alright Kit. You are safe here with me, safe from your humans."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, feeling something nuzzle his cheek. A large red fox stared at him, worry displayed in his eyes. Yesterday's events flooded back to him, but he did not feel any more assured.

Kyuubi sat up on his hind legs and stared at the smaller fox sadly.

Naruto dropped his gaze to the cave floor, trying to get his breathing under control. It was a lot more trouble than usual. Without the fox in his mind, screaming to go kill those who had haunted his dreams, it felt to real. Like there really was truth to their actions. For the first time in his life, he felt almost hopeless; this new kind of alone was like every blow he had ever received.

"Are you hungry Kit" Kyuubi asked quietly. Naruto kept his head down, afraid to answer. But it seemed his stomach had other plans and protested loudly.

"Well then come. Better to hunt this early, not as many foxes running around. Just stay in your demon form." With that Kyuubi turned and walked toward the mouth of the cave.

Naruto stood slowly, testing his nerves, then trotted after the nine-tails. As soon as he got close Kyuubi shifted to a run. They jumped off the ledge and ran through the clearing.

Not many were out now, a couple of foxes here and there. Mist hovered in the clearing, damping Naruto's fur. From what he could see, the sky was a faint yellow orange, preparing for the day. The color struck him as strange, but he quickly brushed it off. The demons would probably think the same of his blue sky.

Once they entered the trees, Naruto relaxed a little. He let last night's memory slip away, just like the trees they flew past. His feet moved automatically, with no concentration required, almost gracefully. The idea of being so comfortable running like this disturbed him again. It just should not be this easy.

"Get ready Kit." Kyuubi whispered. Naruto had almost forgot what they were doing.

Suddenly a rabbit jumped out of the bush they had been rushing for. Kyuubi lunged for the rabbit, not allowing it to move even three feet. He caught it by the neck, his paw slamming onto its side. He broke its neck before it could let out a cry.

Naruto stopped; amazed at the speed Kyuubi had completed his hunt. The large fox looked up at him, blood dripping for his teeth slightly.

"Now it is your turn Kit. Listen for the preys movements, smell where it is hiding."

He stared dumbly, did he really think _he_ could do _that_?!

If possible the nine tails seemed to roll his eyes, "Just try little one, you are a ninja are you not?"

Naruto tried to humor the other fox; he closed his eyes and stood motionless. His senses spread out to their limit, and everything becoming sharp and clear. It was a feeling he knew well, though he tried not to, he sometimes used this sharpness in his world. It had been a big scene when he reported to Kakashi and his team that the enemy was on their way. He had been leaned up against a tree, concentrating on his watch time. He was use to listening like this in the village to escape from his hunters, so it had not struck him as abnormal. The other ninjas were quite loud and reeked of alcohol, so he could hear their approach easily. His teammates did not believe him however, to them it looked like he was asleep and they claimed he had only dreamed it. They could not hear or see them approaching. It turned out the nin were still at least a mile or more away, depending on how fast they were moving. From then on he had tried to resist using his heightened senses, to remain as normal as possible, but now he was able to truly be himself.

Somewhere, he could here the sound of running paws lightly hitting the ground. He guessed it was more fox demons trying to catch breakfast. The smell of Kyuubi's kill was strong with blood, but he could also smell the scent the rabbit carried before the blood had covered it. He searched for a match, something that was similar to the scent of the rabbit.

Then there it was! Naruto opened his eyes; Kyuubi already had his rabbit in his mouth, ready to move. They took off in the direction of the smell, Naruto's hunger triggering some hidden instinct. Kyuubi jogged behind, keeping a distance as to not muddle up the small scent with the blood of his.

"Slow down." Kyuubi advised.

Naruto could smell how close his rabbit was, and he slowed to a crawl. The bush they stood behind gave a view of where his prey stood.

He crouched low, stiffened his shoulders, and readied for the jump.

Before he could act, a black fox jumped out and grabbed the animal. The rabbit opened its mouth to scream, but its predator's teeth sunk into its neck, silencing the noise. The fox quickly tore its head back, ripping out the animal's throat and killing it instantly. It had killed the small creature just as easily and gracefully as Kyuubi had.

This fox was slightly bigger than Naruto, its head would probably linger above his own. It was completely black from head to tail; its fur was sleek and well kept, it was very beautiful. This fox also bore two tails.

As if sensing Naruto's scanning eyes, it turned and stared straight at him. Violet eyes met blue for a moment, then the fox grabbed its meal and ran.

Kyuubi let out a bark of a laugh and it took Naruto a few seconds to register that it was his meal that had been stolen.

He was late.

Sakura had stayed all night with Naruto and he was going to relieve her early this morning, so she could get some breakfast.

But he had gone to visit Obito and his old Sensei first, hoping for guidance. She would understand, she knew how easily he got lost when he went there.

The stone had many names on it, from past wars and important missions. Most however, had come from the night the nine-tailed fox demon had attacked, to many to count. Yet he could always pick two out of all the rest. It had become automatic, with how many times he had come to visit.

He had questioned how Obito would have reacted on a mission he had put his students through. Nartuo reminded him so much of Obito, it was almost painful. His old friend more than likely would have done the exact same thing as his student.

Looking at his Sensei's name caused a horrible guilt to consume Kakashi's whole body. He had sworn to protect Minato's son to the death. Yet he had let him end up in a coma. If it had not been for the demon fox, he would have failed completely.

Naruto and his Father were total opposites, yet almost exactly the same. Poor Kushina had not gotten one of her traits to shine on Naruto. The boy looked just like his Father, was great at coming up with brilliant plans in tight situations, and had that bold stubborn attitude as well. He was destined to be just as great as his Sensei was. If Naruto had grown up with his parents he probably would have already been recognized as the next Hokage.

What worried Kakashi however, was the fox like attributes Naruto seemed to posses. He had that sexy no jutsu, which in legend demon foxes would disguise themselves as women to lure men. The kid was a well-known pranksters and his slyness showed in it. The villagers had also grown to know Naruto's smile as a "fox grin". These thoughts had once tricked him into believing Naruto truly was the fox demon during the time of his ANBU days, when he had been entrusted to guard the child. He now questioned what was wrong with his sanity then or if he was truly blind for a short period of time.

Alas, it was such thoughts that had kept him all morning. It was almost time for Sasuke's shift; so he could always take her for lunch as an apology.

As he reached for the room they were keeping Naruto, he stopped. There was a soft sobbing coming from behind the door. He opened it slowly, making no noise, and peered inside. Sakura had her arms folded on the bed Naruto slept on, head buried in them, her shoulders shook as she cried quietly.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I never got to tell you, but I really am." She grabbed the none responsive boys hand and hiccupped, "I don't care what my parents say, you're my friend…"

Naruto kept dreaming peacefully, oblivious to the girl beside him. Sakura seemed to become angry with this, her sobs stopped and she stood up, knocking the stool over.

"Why do you have to be such an idiot!? Why can't you just follow the rules Naruto!? I hate you! I hate you!" Kakashi was about to step in to stop her, fearing she might actually harm Naruto. But suddenly she crumbled to the floor, her knees buckling. She burst into fresh tears, her sobs becoming hysterically loud.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Please open your eyes Naruto."

Kakashi walked in slowly, trying not to startle the crying girl. He crept up behind her and laid a hand on her shaking shoulder.

She slowly turned her head towards him, like it was a heavy burden to do so. It looked as if she had not gotten any sleep and had been crying for hours. He knelt down on one knee and she turned half her body towards him, laying her head on his chest and balled her hands in his jacket. A few more tears ran down her cheeks, like they were unable to stop now.

"He won't wake up Kakashi."

He patted her hair, holding her close and whispered, "Come on Sakura-chan, Sasuke will be here soon. I'll take you somewhere to feel better."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up bridle style. He glanced at the slumbering blonde on the bed and felt the guilt wash over him once again.

"Be safe Naruto."

**I am so sorry it has taken this long to write another chapter! While school is easy, it has been laying on 10 paged papers and endless projects for me to be burnt out from. For a time I flinched every time I merely thought of writing. The new semester is starting next week and it will probably be a lot easier, so hopefully chapters very soon. I'm already getting ideas for my little characters. X3 ok, now on to the story!**

**I will probably never write in Sakura's perspective, I'm not to fond of her, so I gave a small glimpse of what this has done for her. Naruto is still learning the fundamentals of being his fox, but I do like to give him his already fox like traits from his world. Other foxes are about to be introduced so you can see life in the demon world. I must warn all who are reading this however, that this will not be one of those 20-chapter stories, unless the story keeps progressing like it is now. I would love to make it one of those but the story plot doesn't really allow it. Xd**

**A BIG thanks to all who reviewed, they made me desperate to write another chapter and inspired me in ideas for my later chapters! Write me about the parts you liked or if you liked the chapter, it is always welcomed. X3 I hope I did not disappoint any.**


	4. Chapter 4

It took Naruto several more minutes to find another meal. It was much harder to concentrate from his increasing anger.

Once he had figured out the other fox had stole his intended prey, he had run after it blindly. His hopes had been to catch the black fox and beat it to a pulp for the rabbit, but he could never seem to catch it! There had been a few incidences where he had almost jumped for another fox, but had realized that they either did not have two tails or the violet eyes.

The goose chase had lasted until he had come to enough sense to track the smell. This had led to the horrible discovery that the scent was nowhere in range.

He had reluctantly returned to Kyuubi to continue to look for breakfast. When he had finally caught something, it had not been pretty. Instead of handling the attack gracefully like Kyuubi and the other fox, he had completely over killed the poor creature. Taking all his anger out on it.

He had been on the verge of tossing the little rabbit in the air when Kyuubi had made a comment to "not play with his food". Which had abruptly ended any ill feelings he had towards the meal.

The sun was already approaching the center of the sky as they headed into the clearing. The whole demon village seemed to be alive now. Many were roaming the area; small foxes and children with fox ears and tails were playing now. If he had his eyes closed it probably would have been like walking in any other town.

Whenever they would get close, the foxes would stop what they were doing and would either bow or nod towards the pair. From a distance they would always stare, a lot were directed at him. Naruto suddenly wished his fur were red like Kyuubi's.

Ahead of them a group of foxes near his size ran off in to the woods. Naruto wondered if they were going off to play some sort of game. He stared after them, a familiar feeling clawing its way into his heart once again.

"Kyuubi-sama!"

Naruto's train of thought was thankfully ended by a man's shout. He looked up in time to see a large six-tailed black fox approaching.

Kyuubi stopped their slow pace and laid his rabbit down gently, "Greetings Roiyaru. How are you this morning?"

Roiyaru stopped in front of them and bowed his head respectively.

"I thought I would introduce your Kit to my daughter. She's not the best of fighters, but is turning into quite the pretty little fox." His fox grin appeared and he looked behind himself. A fox peered out from behind the many tails the fox bore. Naruto's fur bristled as he noticed the eyes, violet.

"Naruto-san, this is my oldest daughter, Akari."

Akari came from behind her father when one of his tails nudged her slightly. He relaxed when he saw that she too only had one tail and as he looked closer, he could see that her eyes were not violet. They resembled more of a dark lavender.

"Hello Nartuo-san." She spoke softly. Her voice reminded him of small bells singing in a light breeze.

"Well she is quite the cute thing. Maybe will see her tomorrow? But we must get back to the den for breakfast. There was a mishap in the forest and we have not eaten yet." Kyuubi chuckled slightly, which sounded like a clicking noise. Naruto held back a growl, recalling the morning's events.

"Of course my Lord. We shall not keep you any longer." The black fox bowed once more, as did his daughter, and they both ran off in the direction they had come.

Kyuubi began his pace again, but this time faster then before. Naruto was aware of other foxes that were making their way in the pairs direction.

When they entered the cave Naruto dropped hid rabbit. He looked around for anything that would even resembled a fire pit.

"Hey Kyuubi whe-" a loud crack sounded behind him and made him stop mid sentence. He turned slowly, praying his thoughts were not true.

The larger fox was lying on the cave floor, head raised as he chewed on a bone from his own meal.

"Oh Kami… You don't expect me too!" Horror struck Naruto as he franticly searched the cave for some source for fire!

Kyuubi rolled his eyes at the little foxes antics, "Kit. Kit its not that bad."

Naruto whirled back around staring at Kyuubi dumbly, his small muzzle hanging open.

"Naruto. You have eaten worse then this in your youth. You have already carried it here with out complaint."

Disturbance filled him as Naruto realized he had in fact carried that bloody creature here without giving it a second thought. But he also thought back to his time on the streets, after the orphanage had kicked him out. He shunned away from the memories of the cold nights pilfering for any kind of food before he was caught. This was nothing compared to what he had resorted to he supposed.

"Just stay in your fox form. It would look bad if you ruined your kimono." Kyuubi said between bites.

Naruto sniffed the rabbit, it still disturbed him to have to act so much like a demon. Horror filled him once again as another thought struck him.

"B-but Kyuu… isn't this a demon?"

The red fox grunted and looked at Naruto, leaving his meal for a moment. "Yes that is a demon. In your world it would probably be as big as one of your grown males in its good years. In your world it would also be considered the same as myself. However, that is not how it is done here. That demon does not have as much reasoning; it does as it pleases without a second thought. Here it is nothing more then a common animal, much like your own."

Naruto cursed inwardly as his last excuse for not eating the rabbit was torn away. He lied down in front of his catch and sniffed it again, buying time to think of another excuse.

"I would tell you to remove the fur, but you mutilated it so much it does not matter now." Kyuubi chuckled at his own joke.

Naruto was thankful his fur hid the heat that covered his face. His stomach protested loudly and ached from no food for almost 2 days. He swallowed the last of his pride and took a small nibble of the creature. No one would have to find out anyway right? He shuddered at the thought of the villager's reaction if they found out.

Surprisingly the rabbit wasn't bad; a little too soft, but over all it was somewhat tasty. It had a certain spiciness to it and he vaguely wondered if different animals had a different flavors.

Kyuubi transformed into his human form as Naruto licked his muzzle. He took it as a cue and transformed as well. His kimono was dirty from running in the woods and sleeping on the ground, he patted it down to try and make it seem better.

Kyuubi whistled and a minute later the fox from the other day appeared. She was already in her human form and had a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"How would you like to dress today my Lord?" she asked politely.

"Formal attire for myself, Kit, would you like to explore the village on your own today?"

Naruto was taken aback. He wanted to sat no, fear from being alone with demons, but then he remembered the foxes that had run into the woods and curiosity won over the fear. He nodded shyly and the nine-tails turned back to their dresser.

"My Kit will need something nice but not formal."

The orange fox began to remove Naruto's old kimono and he fumbled to help. She fitted him into another blue kimono; this one resembled the color of bluebells. The necklace was replaced with another chocker; this one was gold but with a sapphire fitted in the center. It was slightly thicker then the other and had little designs winding around the gem. His ankle bracelets were exchanged for cloth wrappings that was the same color as his kimono, it covered the top of his feet and a yellow tie wrapped around his ankles and made an "X" half way up his shins and tied off around the top. She tried to brush his hair but gave up after he kept giggling when she would touch his fox ears. It became very hard to concentrate because the women also joined in after a couple of fits.

Kyuubi already had his new kimono on. It was the same color as his hair and had black winding designs up one sleeve. She fastened a gold clip to each of his front hair sections that rested over his shoulders. These had a diamond shaped ruby in each. His hair was braided halfway down its length to complete the look.

Even though Kyuubi's look on formal seemed quite simple, to Naruto the Great Fox still managed to look like some kind of God. Naruto wondered if he even came close to looking as good.

Once the fox was done inspecting her work she bowed and Kyuubi bid her leave.

"Where will you be going in the village Kit?" Kyuubi asked and headed towards the mouth of the cave.

Naruto followed and they stopped at the ledge overlooking the village. He looked across the plain, the whole was bathed in the late morning light and even though the land was brown, it was strangely beautiful. It looked as though it was sunset during fall. The wild flowers and full-grown trees gave away that it was late summer however, just as his world. There were no visible dens on the outskirts of the field, yet it was now filled with demons. The foxes were an array of colors, brown, red, orange, grey, and even a few black and white. From what he could see there was non that were blonde like himself. Kyuubi's words from of "such a rare color" echoed in his mind and made him very uncomfortable. It made him wonder if he was the only one.

The demons moved with a sort of lazy grace, there did not seem to be a routine any of them followed. There seemed to be an open-air market set up across the field. Some foxes in human form were settled on the ground with few things in front of them on display. Kimonos, food and other things were offered, but as Naruto watched another fox gave a rabbit for one of the geese the vender sold.

It was more odd to see some as humans and others as foxes. A couple walked together holding hands while a family of foxes basked in the sun. He let his gaze flow over the plain, following the tops of the trees until he spotted a clearing in them. Instead of grass there was a huge scar on the land and no trees grew on or near it. What stood out most were all the young foxes gathered there.

"I think I will go see the outside of the clearing." Naruto answered.

Kyuubi seemed to think for a moment before responding, "As long as you remain within my clan's territory, you may do as you wish. None of the foxes will harm you, but there are a few things you should be wary of."

Immediately Naruto thought of the grey fox. His eyes searched the clearing, taking in every fox present.

As if the large fox could read Naruto's mind, which he may be able to after so many year living in him, and said, "Do not worry Kit, it is nothing dangerous. Only you should not reveal too much about yourself. It is very odd for a leader to disappear and return with a kit. If anyone were to ask where I have been, simply reply that I was retrieving you from another clan. Do not reveal your age, foxes age much slower than humans. Also do not ask someone their's, it is rude. If you want something all you must do is ask, you are my Kit and will be given it. Do not pick a fight with another fox that has more tails than you."

Naruto nodded, relieved with the simple rules. As he turned to leave however he hard Kyuubi clear his throat awkwardly. He looked back to discover the fox with his arms crossed over his chest and looking out among his people still.

"Once you have finished come back to the den… it is not safe to wander by oneself at night in your position." A slight color rose on the red foxes cheeks, like it embarrassed him to udder such words.

This action wrapped chains around Naruto's feet, and he found himself unable to speak. To be worried about and wanted to come back was a new feeling. He played the words in his head once more to make sure he heard right and again for pleasure of it. A grin slowly broke across his face, which seemed to cause the demon king more discomfort. Small laughter spilled from his open lips and he nodded fiercely before running off this time.

"Sale, sale! Over here Sakura-chan!"

Sakura turned to see her friend once again surrounded by cute outfits. The girl had talent for finding the best things.

Team Seven had finally been forced to go on missions again. They were relatively smaller then the last one they had. Kakashi always seemed to make sure the missions did not take them to far from the village for to long of a period.

The team had been offered a day off for the up coming festival. She and Sasuke had protested loudly, wanting anything to keep them from that horrid building and their own thoughts. Sakura had been regretting the dawn all night, but then Ino had called and offered a girls days out.

Now here she was, arms full of bags and helping Ino with her new look.

"Thanks for inviting me out Ino, its been fun." Sakura said once she reached the kunoichi.

"No prob! Your one of the only female ninjas of our generation who don't spend all their time training and have a sense of fashion. I was in desperate need of girl time!" Shikamaru always-" Ino jabbed happily about her teammate. While it was true that out of most of the gilrs, her and Ino still did make time for their looks, but her blonde companion didn't really have to worry about training all the time. She was a natural purebred ninja, easily the best kunoichi of their generation. Sakura suspected out of all the females Sasuke could have chosen, Ino more then likely would have been it for her background.

Said girl was currently holding a knee length purple dress in front of herself. She sighed forlornly and twirled a section of her almost shoulder length hair around her finger and said, " This would have looked so cute with my long hair. What do you think Sakura-chan, do u think Shika-" she stopped mid sentence and flushed a dark red, "a-a, Sasuke w-will like it?!"

Sakura suppressed a fit of laughter and nodded, not trusting her voice. Ino quickly shuffled though more clothes.

"H-how bout this one?" she grabbed hold of a bright orange short skirt but stopped her fingers lingering on it for a fraction of a second before grabbing the blue one. But it had been long enough for Sakura's well-trained eyes to see. Her gaze traced the orange skirt; memorizing the color and feeling herself follow the pull of memories that came with it.

"Its beautiful…" Sakura whispered, willing herself to look away from the color.

"Hey! You hungry? I'm starved! Lets go look around the village for any early festival stalls!" Ino stammered and locked arms with the pink nin. She quickly paid for the purple dress and blue skirt and drug the recovering girl out of the store.

Sakura breathed deeply once the emerged in the fresh air, letting the wind steal her thoughts.

As she was led through the streets of Kohana, Sakura awed at the decorations of this years festival. Everyone was still busily working; building stalls, hanging lanterns, and cooking food. Everything was bigger and better the she could remember, everyone happier.

"Can you believe the luck?! We will finally get to celebrate the full riddance of the beast!"

"Thought I would never see the day! I may finally let my wife have that son she's always wanted!" Two men laughed happily, many odd conversations could be heard while Ino looked for a spot to eat.

How could they be so happy? Laugh and smile so freely? Could they not see that Kohana's sun was gone? Sakura's throat closed and her breathing became labored with each smiling face they passed. Why were they not unhappy? She wanted to grab people and shake sense into them. Be unhappy! Be unhappy!

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up to a bewildered Ino and was surprised to find her knees had given out on her. She was currently on the ground in the middle of the street, some of the people looking at her.

"I'm sorry Ino, but could you take me to the old grave stone? I have to meet someone there and I had forgotten." Sakura whispered, trying to hold onto herself.

"Oh its ok sweetie… I-I forgot I had to meet Shika-kun anyway." Ino said sadly and helped her friend up.

Sakura allowed herself to be led once again towards where she knew her sensi would be.

Naruto peered through the dense trees into the clearing. There were foxes with 1 to 2 tails covering the rocks and dirt mounds. Loud growling and other noises were coming from inside the crowed demons.

Naruto crept closer, hoping to see what was all the excitement. Before he could get close enough however, a brown two tailed fox spotted him.

"Hey look what we got!" suddenly all noise stopped and everyone was staring at him.

"Its Kyuubi-sama's kit!"

All thoughts to run were foiled as all the foxes quickly circled him. Most were bigger then him, but not many had more tails then he did. Up close like this he could see all the small differences between them. The scars, cowlicks in their fur, even the way their fox faces looked.

"Look at that fur! I've never seen anything like it. Defiantly our Kyuubi's."

"If you are the Kyuubi's son you must be strong right?"

Suddenly they were all talking at once, asking him and each other questions. Finally one came forward and stopped the voices.

"Would you like to fight?" he asked. Naruto realized this was the same brown fox from earlier.

"Fight?" Naruto asked shyly still aware of all the demons surrounding him.

"A match, to test skills between the ages and determine who is to beat. It's for fun and to train. Have you never played?" The brown continued; he seemed to have appointed himself spokes-demon.

"Um no… it was undignified in my old village…" Naruto pulled the excuse right out of the air and prayed it worked.

The group all burst into a fit of laughter however and Naruto's plans to escape seemed to become urgent once again.

"You really are your Mothers Kit!" Don't worry Kyuubi-sama's genes are sure to have shown through!"  
"Yeah, just try it. We'll go easy on you sweet thing!"

The last statement pushed all his thoughts to run away and his pride swelled inside his chest.

"Fine, who is the first fox goin' down!?" He barked.

All the foxes seemed shocked for a moment but they soon recovered and grinned widely. The air was filled with growls as they all offered to fight the young prince.

"The festival is soon…"

It was late morning and the sun was beginning to shine brightly through the window. The blonde haired boy seemed to only become golden as the suns rays danced across the sleeping form.

"You would probably be jumping up and down from excitement normally." Sasuke continued to speak to the boy.

Naruto remained silent, not seeming to notice the sun moving over his cheeks, realizing time was moving on without him.

Sasuke imagined what Naruto would be like at a festival, tried to remember catching a glimpse of him at such an event.

He had only attended a few throughout his years, but out of them all he could not recall ever seeing Naruto. It would have been very hard to miss the loud creature. He should have heard rambunctious laughter as he caught sight of him running away from a vender he just pranked. Or saw him trying every kind of food at every stand. It should have been impossible to miss this boy.

As he tried to think of the reasons for Narutos disappearances, he realized he could not remember him during most of his own child hood. This boy that had done so much to get the attention of people had yet somehow he only came into his own focus now.

Sasuke reached out to the teammate he thought he had known and took his hand, felling the warmth that told he was still alive.

"Where were you Naruto?"

**Oh my gosh! I am so sorry for how long it took to get this to you guys. School was still packed with home work and I had to get a new computer to slw things down even more. Now that summer is out I hope to get in some much sooner and to possibly finish the fanic before school starts again. But I will not make any promises because I am currently working morning shifts for collage money and doing a mural on a 200ft fence… so I am quite busy, but I am determined to make time for this x3!!!**

**Ok… it turns out I lied about not using Sakura a lot, but she is so good for the guilty side of the story that she has turned into a good source XD. Kyuubi is able to act alil more like a fatherly figure now that the story is picking up. The next chapters will finally bring in the new main characters of the story and more demon ways will be in play.**

**I would like to warn everyone that this does contain yaoi in it, for that is in the next chapters as well. Also, this story is not very long, I wish I could write wonderful 20 chapter stories but I am not quite there yet xd. It will probably only be like 6 to maybe 7 chapters long. Hopefully it will inspire more talented writers for ideas sorta along this topic x3, I would love to read some.**

**I am not sure if the last chapter was all that great because of the lack in reviews I got, so I hope this one seems a lot better and you all enjoy it greatly. My next chapter is dedicated to a special person who gave me a wonderful idea from the lovely review I did receive from them, but that will be revealed later x3.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the prolonged wait. School has slowed down and soccer is over so I have finally got on the ball xd. What really kept me from writing was the fight scene, first timer with animal fights and I tried to make it more complicated then it need to be. Lesson learned. From now on things should move at a faster pace though x3. This chapter is dedicated to the fans who wrote me wake up calls on having to write, tough love is also good for the soul. Hope you guys enjoy, I am pleased with the favs I have been notified of, that's good enough for me (though I love ya'll that send reviews! ^o^)**

The small fox yelped as it went tumbling on the ground. It remained down to signal its willing defeat.

"Wooh! Can no one defeat the next Kyuu!" Naruto barked.

He had defeated every fox that had challenged him so far, showing all he was not **cute**. It was like the ninja fighting he was use to but with no weapons. He had been on all four plenty of times during missions in his own world, it was as natural as walking.

All the surrounding foxes yipped excitedly as they offered more challenges and were deciding who would have the next round. But before the decision was made the crowd suddenly became quite.

"Your pretty good."

Naruto looked up to see a black fox perched on the ledge of the dirt mound. The fur on his head was spiked, as well as on his ears and tail. He was slightly taller then Naruto, his muzzle would probably sit underneath this foxes, and he had a bigger body mass .Ruby red eyes peered down at the blonde, holding a look of confidence within them.

"And who are you?" Naruto asked huffily.

The black fox hopped into the crowd and they parted to allow him direct access to Naruto. Once he reached Naruto he looked him over, even circling. Thankfully Naruto's fur hid his burning cheeks but he did not protest. Fear of offending a demon custom he did not understand holding his tongue.

"I am Shiguri, the reining Champion of these fights. Your pretty good runt, so how bout it? Wanna try another level?"

Naruto nodded, silently for once, trying to calculate this foxes strength. They began to pace around one another, waiting for an opening.

Shiguri moved lightly, no sound was made as his paws swept across the ground, he seemed to float. His movements were slow and graceful. It seemed that this was a trait many of the fox demons exhibited.

Naruto's form was almost the exact opposite. He let his paw slide along the ground, ready to dig into the dirt for fast action. His head hung low and he moved fluidly, relaxing his muscles to let his chakra flow.

Suddenly the black fox let out a rumbling growl and lunged at Naruto. Naruto was quick however, and jumped into the air before the foxes teeth could grab his fur. As soon as he was directly above the black fox he dropped his weight, opening his jaws to clamp onto his opponents neck. The other fox was also fast unfortunately and made it past Naruto's anticipated landing spot. Shiguri ran right at the dirt mound and used his speed to run along the side of it, rounding back towards the blonde fox. Naruto dodged the swipe aimed at his muzzle and wrapped his tail around the others front paw, causing his opponent to fall. Naruto took his chance and jumped on Shigures fallen form before it had even hit the ground. As soon as he touched the black fur however, the fox whirled them around until he was on top and Naruto had his back pressed to the ground. He felt teeth gently resting on the skin of his neck and knew his was beat.

The crowd cheered and rushed close to the two foxes. Shiguri slipped off the smaller fox and transformed into his human form, Naruto took this as a signal and also transformed. Shiguri was at least 4 inches taller the Naruto, his hair was much like his fur, spiky. It laid slightly under his shoulders and spikes flicked out all the way back to his scalp, where they laid flat. His bangs parted on each side of his cheeks; making his memory tug at him oddly. His body was built but no overly. He wore a dark blue kimono with a metal plate on his chest tied on by a black wrap. The look Naruto had gotten from this demons eyes earlier was easily portray on his handsome face. Naruto felt meager in his dusty kimono and short hair, since everyone else seemed to have their grown long! Shiguri offered the blonde on the ground his hand and Naruto accepted, not really sure if he could manage on his own in the long kimono. The demon did not let go of his hand though. Instead he brought it to his mouth and kissed his fingers and said.

"You would be a great mate."

The other demons all made wolf calls and some seemed angered. Naruto felt his cheeks heat and wished he was still in fox form.

"Eh- ugh- Kyuubi-san is expecting me back now! I must excuse myself!" Naruto said as he turned and fled. Leaving the crowd of foxes snicker behind him.

The sun was past the middle of the sky now, he had spent most of the day fighting with the demons. Once he entered the village he let out the breath of air he did not realize he was holding. Many foxes were running about now, mainly of the bigger size. They were coming in and out of the clearing in more of a hurry then earlier, most that were emerging form the trees had some sort of kill they had hunted. Naruto's stomach growled and he realized how long it had been since he had eaten. The thought of killing again was out of the question, he would retain as much of his humanity as possible. A young fox, even smaller then himself, walked out of the woods with his kimono filled with berries and other sort of fruits.

Thanking Kami for this sign, he trotted off towards the woods.

The sun peeked through the leafs and decorated the grass. It was beautiful, the orange and brown making a soft gold. He had to fight the erg to go curl up in one of the sun spots and take a nap.

He had never been allowed to wander in the forest of Kohana and usually got into trouble if he was seen heading in that direction. But, somehow, he had found a way to escape the walls around him. The woods called to him. Running through the trees, the grass tickling his legs, and the sun kissing his skin. He had spent his best days though out the years in the Kohana forest. Once he had become a certified ninja however, there had been no time to visit his woods.

Naruto tripped mid thought as his kimono caught on a thorn bush. He growled and jerked his kimono up and tucked it in his wrap until it was slightly above his knees. Satisfied with the new found mobility, the search for food was ago once again.

Before long Naruto's ear picked up the sound of laughter. He followed the sound and found small children gathered around a black berry bush. Their hands and mouths were stained purple and they tossed berries into the air, catching and stealing them from each other. One, a cute brown haired girl with cropped hair, stuck her nose in the air and sniffed above her head. She turned her blue eyes towards Naruto and her mouth fell open.

"Its Naruto-sama!" she yelled and suddenly all the children were surrounding him.

"Wow such hair! Its like the Sun!"

"How did you get such a color Prince?"

Many similar questions were thrown at him and he began to debate on how fast young foxes could run until one tugged on his kimono.

She was a tiny girl who was barely as tall as his knees. She had snow white hair and yellow eyes; she was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

"Yes?" Naruto said as he bent down to pick the small child up.

"Where is your mom?" she asked with huge innocent eyes.

"Ugh… she is back at my home village." Naruto answered.

"How did Kyuubi-sama meet her?" she continued.

Naruto paused for a second, then noticed the other young demons were also listening. He smiled and sat down in the middle of the group, gently maneuvering the girl in his arm to his lap, and he began his story.

He told of a beautiful white fox, with hair falling past her knees and eyes that shown as blue as his own. She had beauty that was well known all over the land of snow and it was said that nothing could compare. But such a gift also caused the ice king, as he was known, to want this creature for himself. She denied all of his offers however, she wanted true love and not the cold king. This angered the demon and he exiled the white fox from his land, sending her to wander the snow. Food was scarce in those lands and a fox on her own did not make for good hunting. Soon the beautiful women wilted and became to weak to move and the ice cavern she hid in became her prison. One day however, the red blazing sun entered hair lair. She had reached for it, wanting its warmth, and it had answered her cry. The next morning when she woke a blazing red fox was curled around her. When the new fox opened his eyes, she knew it was love. Kyuubi stayed with her until she was healthy enough to travel, and he promised to avenge her. Kyuubi stormed the ice village and challenged the evil ruler and it was a fierce duel, both the foxes being 9 tails. But the red fox was fighting for a reason, and this was enough for him to out do his opponent. After his promise was fulfilled, he asked the white fox to come back to his own lands and be his mate. She accepted, but could not return to his land yet. Now that he had proclaimed her as his, she had joint ruling of the ice land. One day Kyuubi suddenly had to return to his land, but swore he would return for her once she found a suitable replacement.

As his words stopped flowing Naruto took in his audience. All the little ones were lying on their stomachs with wide eyes, some had their heads resting on his lap. Naruto nibbled on another blackberries as he let his tale sink in. He had always been good at stories.

"Wow, Kyuubi-sama is sooooo cool!"

"How romantic!"

He was pleased with the reactions, watching as they began reenacting the fight between the two foxes. Also glad they did not ask about his mother, he had not come up with that part yet. Out of the corner of Naruto's eye he noticed another had joined the group. The fox was much to large to be a child, probably bigger then his own fox form. The fox had two tails and was as dark as the night. It's eyes were a piercing violet.

Naruto's train of thought abruptly halted and he felt his mouth hanging open. The black fox realized he had been seen and jumped up, running deeper into the forest. Naruto softly growled and took chase, reverting to a fox easily. The children squealed and giggled as Naruto ran through them, shouting for him to come play again.

He followed the scent blindly, relying only on his senses this time. His natural speed soon allowed him to spot his prey but it was still a ways away. This fox was obviously use to running in the forest, dodging obstacles easily. The chase did not last long; they appeared in an open field and the other fox disappeared in the tall grass and Naruto was forced to slow down. There were many wildflowers growing in the field, and it was diluting the scent of the black fox. The grass was to tall and thick for him to see so he transformed back into human.

He peered over the grass and searched for movement. A flash of black passed over his wandering vision and he lunged, landing right on top of another human.

"Oof!" Naruto's breath rushed out of his lungs as he hit a solid chest, letting him know the other fox was male.

"Are you mad?! You could have jumped on a snake!" The other males voice was calm and left the expression of an echo. It had a pleasant affect.

Naruto looked straight at the fox and glared, "You stole my prey, prepare to die."

The other male paused, blinked twice, the chuckled, "A dramatic aren't you? Well forgive me young Prince, I was also hungry." he said and smiled softly.

Naruto stilled, all plans for revenge suddenly failing. He rolled off the other male and sat silently. Hunger was not a fun thing.

A hand blocked the grass Naruto was staring at and he was thankfully forced from his thoughts, "I am Sukuriyu, young Prince."

Naruto blinked then took the offered hand and shook it slowly, "Naruto. Don't call me young Prince."

Now he was able to get a good look at this new demon. He was tall and broad shouldered, but slim like a runner. His hair was ebony black and straight, held up in a pony tail that ended slightly past his shoulders. His eyes blazed with intelligence in their violet depths, very different from his calm expression. Sukuriyu waited calmly as Naruto practically looked him over, noticing this, he immediately dropped his gaze.

"Was it true?"

Naruto peeked back up and saw Sukuriyu starring at him, "Is what true?"

The other male paused for a moment, running his eyes across Nautro features. As if searching for permission.

"The story about you mother." he finally said.

"Ah…no."

For some reason that was the answer that slipped from his lips, not the story of the ice princess. Naruto vaguely wondered if those violet eyes had some sort of power as something else tugged at his mind.

"They… died… a long time ago." Naruto covered his mouth shocked. For some reason his mouth had become to big for its own good.

"I-I mean, Kyuubi-san's not! I just find it hard to believe that I still have a Father." he could feel his face slowly heating up.

Sukuriyu sat for a minute and looked out towards the open field, the sun gently sinking down the sky altering the skies colors. His eyes showed another battle raging in his mind as he processed this information.

"I understand. My Father is also dead."

"W-what happened?" Naruto's curiosity, getting the better of his common sense on such a matter, forced him to ask the question.

The other fox wiggled the two tails he possessed, one swiping to touch Naruto's face.

"I earned my second tail when he tried to kill my mother out of blind rage… I was probably your age."

Suddenly Sukuriyu looked puzzled and reached out to wipe a tear off the blondes cheek.

"Prince?"

Naruto cried. Cried for the child who never got to have a father. And cried for the child who never got to know either of his parents.


	6. Chapter 6

"I don't understand why we are doing this, what if we got caught?"

"Calm yourself. Nurses almost never come here."

Ino turned to Shikamaru with a dumbfounded expression, "O-of course they do! Naruto's in critical condition!"

Shikamaru glanced towards the blonde girl sitting beside him, "Please try Ino? Don't you want to help Naruto? Sakura?"

"But Shika, I don't see how this could help."

Ino looked down at the boy on the bed. He was sleeping peacefully, all of his burns were healed; you would probably never know he had any at one time. Shikamaru grabbed Ino's hand to get her attention again. She blushed and looked at his serious expression.

"It's worth a try Ino, no one else can."

Ino turned away, he knew and was using the knowledge to his every advantage. "Fine I will, but you owe me." So she performed the hand seals and fell into Shikamaru's arms like always.

Ino opened her eyes and found herself staring at a ceiling. She felt cold water underneath herself and sat up, she was sitting in the middle of a hallway filled with water up to her ankles. The hall was lit by torches and dripping of water echoed across the walls.

This was not normal. Usually when she entered a mind it was black and void, the other mind just waiting in the center. The mind was not hard to take over since there was nothing protecting it and Ino was a manifest image of herself. This, however, was not a void; there was something very wrong. For a second Ino considered this to just be a dream, but the familiar tug to another's mind told her other wise.

She followed the pull, determined to help Shikamaru. The hall was larger then she imagined a mind could be, but this was the first, it led her past many doors. From the doors you could hear different voices and noises faintly, sometimes movements; at one point she even imagined hearing the familiar crying of a child. She kept to the tug, however, afraid to stray in this new environment, and it finally halted in front of a doorway marked with 1 line above it.

She walked into the room slowly and saw a large room with a cage just as large inside. Inside the cage it was pitch black, making it impossible to see how far it stretched. Ino crept closer, following her chakra, and saw a boy.

"Naruto?" she breathed and rushed to the cage.

Naruto was lying just beyond the bars, his body was lying on what seemed like the only dry spot in the whole mind. He was sleeping, just like at the hospital.

She reached her hand through the bars , but right as she was about to touch the boy something moved behind him. Huge claws reached out and covered Naruto's body, staying high enough not to touch him. A rumbling growl filled the room and all of Ino's insides shook. The most powerful wave of fear poured out of her mouth and she threw herself away, away into her own body.

Ino opened her eyes and found herself burrowed in Shikamaru's chest. She was covered in sweat and her throat felt raw.

"Ino?"

She looked up and saw a new expression displayed on Shikamaru's features, fear. "What happened? You have been screaming since you left your body!" Shikamaru asked, sitting Ino back upright.

She clutched his shirt, however, and buried her face back into his chest, shaking all over.

"Take me away Shika-kun… then I will tell you."

* * *

Naruto giggled as he placed the last small purple flower in the braided black hair.

"There!" he smiled at his work. Sukuriyu's pony tail had been taken down in exchange for a braid past his shoulders. It now held flowers in each braid as well.

"I am glad this… amuses you Prince." Sukuriyu smirked.

Naruto looked into Sukuriyu's eyes then swept his gaze across the beautiful field. He felt the most calm he had in years. The shadows had crept into the clearing without his notice, and the sun was in it's last moments of retreat. The sky had completely transformed; it had slowly created a new purple smear with red mixed in. Now the night was adding an almost green blue along the clouds, and a misty green hung behind the sun. Somehow twilight had managed to paint the night air and it was not odd in the least.

"Look!" Naruto exclaimed "The sun is almost gone!" he reached out towards the sun, as if he wanted to save it in his palms. "Goin', goin'…" and the sun said its last farewells and disappeared. Naruto sigh contently and dropped on his back.

Sukuriyu chuckled, "I have not watched the sun fall in a long time… however, I do not think Kyuubi-sama will like it if I keep you away."

Naruto shot up, he had completely forgotten! The only problem was he had no idea how to go back after his blind chase earlier.

"You are lost." The larger boy said matter-of-factly.

Naruto glared down at the black fox, trying to convey that this was his fault. Sukuriyu, however, just stood and reached his hand towards the blonde. Naruto paused and just stared, confused.

"Would you allow me to escort you home? I would not want the wrath of my Kyuubi-sama to fall on me because I lost his Kit." the black fox smirked and Naruto reached his hand out. Before he could take the hand, however, Sukuriyu slipped into his fox form.

Naruto gaped and heard a noise that he suspected was fox laughter. He smirked and also transformed, nipping at the black fox's paw to hush him and signal he was ready to go.

They arrived back at the village with some light from the moon to spare. It had not taken to long in their fox forms, but Naruto felt tired enough to sleep tonight and the next after all his exercise today. Foxes wandered the clearing aimlessly, mainly adults, it seemed as if all were ready to sleep.

Naruto transformed back into his human to dust off his kimono, so Kyuubi would not be insulted. Sukuriyu followed suit and grabbed Naruto's hand, continuing to lead him forward and help up the small cliff hanging. Naruto blushed but allowed it, to tired to protest.

They stopped in front of the mouth of the cave; Naruto dropped his hand and looked at the other male.

"Thanks for bringing me back, but don't you ever steal my meat again!" Naruto grinned at Sukuriyu's smirk.

"As you wish, Prince."

Sukuriyu still had the flowers braided through his hair that was now draped over one shoulder, he reminded Naruto of someone else. The black fox took the flower out of his last braid and placed it behind Naruto's fox ear. Naruto allowed it since he had put them in his hair in the first place without permission.

"Until tomorrow Prince." Sukuriyu reached down and gently took Naruto's hand.

He held it for a moment and watched Naruto, when the boy did not pull his hand away the fox kissed it softly. Naruto watch as he turned into a fox and did not turn to the cave until the other fox disappeared behind the tree line in the clearing.

"Kyuu?" Naruto asked the air.

The cave was lit by a fire and Kyuubi was lying in front of it in his fox form.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I suppose." Naruto answer, walking to the fire "I got to show how strong I was with the other foxes. Almost won every match."

Kyuubi nodded his head, then frowned, "You could have said you preferred a shorter kimono."

Naruto quickly undocked the rest of his kimono, he had forgotten it was not fixed correctly when he had dusted it off.

Kyuubi laughed then stared at the fire, serious again.

"Tomorrow will be busy as well. There will be a ceremony in your honor tomorrow after noon."

"What?! What for!"

Kyuubi remained looking at the flames, "To… announce you are of age for suitors. There is no way to tell how long you will remain here, and since you do not know our customs you may accept someone and not know."

Naruto's eye twitched, it unfortunately made since, "What are some customs."

"Well, if you are formally of age, the suitors must have permission to court you from me or yourself. Before so a suitor can either present a desired gift or kiss the desired's hand, if accepted t is a signed of acceptance. Kit?"

Naruto had turned pale, "B-but.. Those assholes! How do you undo it?!"

Kyuubi paused and blinked a few times, "Those? You did attack them did you not? That would decline the offer."

"No! I didn't want to offend some demon rule!"

"If there is two then you can at least not fully accept an offer and will still just have suitors." Kyubbi responded.

Naruto glared at Kyuubi like those were the most vile things to ever fall from his mouth.

"It is better Kit. You are not betrothed and they will amuse and protect you, you will not need me around as much and you can explore more. As long as one accompanies you. Now the ceremony will just close further offers unless asked for."

Naruto transformed into his fox and muttered under his breath, something about stupid demons and such.

Kyuubi smiled and laughed, "There will be a hunt to gather food tomorrow for it, you may participate in that? You seemed to enjoy the hunt earlier."

Kyuubi laughed loudly at the look the small blonde fox shot him a dirty look at the mention of the "incident".

* * *

Naruto's breathes came out in slow and unnoticeable puffs. The sun was setting on his eyes and his cheeks were pink from the heat.

Sasuke moved his chair in front of the window by the bed to block the rays, even though he knew the sun did not bother the slumbering boy. The apartment had been threatened yesterday. Some citizens had begun to persist they burn the room Naruto use to live in, insisting he was not coming back. Tsunade put a stop to it, however, threatening anyone who did not live there to stay away or else. Sasuke noticed that Hinata had begun to visit the room every once a week to keep it tidy (probably neater then Naruto had ever kept it) and now Sakura had begun accompanying her.

"Hello Sasuke."

Sasuke looked towards the door; Neji stood there leaning against the door frame, like he had been watching for some time.

He walked over to the blonde and set down a small bouquet of purple flowers. His hand swept across Naruto's cheek and then moved his bangs from his eyes. Sasuke made a note to ask Hinata to cut Naruto's hair. Naruto's eye lids moved beneath them, as if his eyes were searching while still closed. Sasuke froze, this was the first movement Naruto had shown since arriving at the hospital. He slowly let his finger touch Naruto's and it responded with a twitch.

He pretended nothing had happened, not wanting Neji to notice the small change, he would report it to Kakashi later.

"Why are you here Neji?"

Neji glanced at Sasuke before returning his eyes to the boy on the bed, "Do you know how Naruto feels right now?"

Sasuke remained silent.

"Maybe nothing, but I would guess either two things. He either feels sadness for leaving his friends, or freedom." Neji responded.

"Naruto would feel sad, that is how he is." Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

Neji stared at Sasuke for a moment before turning fully to him and said, "How would you know? Do you really know who Naruto is? Does anyone? Do you know how it feels to be thrown into a society who does not want you? Being in a world that seems like you are alone is different from being in a world that shuns you since birth. How does Sasuke Uchiha know how Naruto feels?" He stared hard into Sasuke's eyes, daring him to find an answer. His attention was taken back to Naruto and he gently plucked a flower from his bouquet and placed it behind Nartuo's ear.

"Now you look much happier." Neji said and walked towards the door, "Watch over him Uchiha, he is very needed in this world." and with that he left.

Sasuke returned his gaze back to the boy in question. He really did appear happier with a flower in his hair, he was surrounded by flowers actually. Many flowers from the Yamanaka shop, some shops refused to sell if they were going to this room. Each flower held different feeling and stories towards the boy, each flower selfishly trying to give its own wish for health, each flower a different friend that wished they could trade places with this boy, each flower wondering why they never saw how important this creature was before it was to late. It was the first time Sasuke had taken notice to the flowers, which was hard with the wonderful smell of the room, perfumed by many different flowers. A smell Naruto might have loved, Sasuke was not sure anymore.

"How do you feel forget-me-nots?" Sasuke asked, grasping Naruto's hand again and feeling a slight twitch back.

**Yay, it did not take me as long to write this one x3 and it should not for the rest. Most of the next chapters are already planned out and I have had a slow down in school work (which is awesome!)**. **If anyone can tell me who these foxes really are I will give you a cookie owo, they are there for a reason people xD. Thanks for all the favs! And for the few reviews I have gotten, they help a lot x3**


	7. Chapter 7

_The feeling of warmth wrapped around Naruto. Soft noises echoed and he felt the rush of being lifted quickly. Fiery red danced before his eyes and soft giggles rung out, he realized that small voice was coming from himself with a start. Suddenly he squealed as he was tickled, now bright yellow filled his vision as more soft cooing erupted. This feeling, it was wonderful, and something he had no memory of till now. _

_This feeling, however, now began to fade. Naruto willed himself to cling to this moment, to remain here with these familiar colors that wanted him so. A want that could only be one thing, love._

Naruto grunted as Kyuubi nuzzled his human cheek, slowly wondering when he had transformed last night.

"Kit?" Kyuubi poked his cold nose back onto Naruto's cheek as if to confirm it was him.

Naruto giggled and stretched, snuggling his face into the red foxes fur and grasping some between his fingers.

"You know I love the color of your fur!" he called out happily.

Kyuubi puffed out air from his nose, slightly ruffling Naruto's hair, "I believed it would please you greater if it was orange."

"Well yeah! Yellow and red together, me and you!" the blonde laughed and buried his face deeper in the fur.

"I believe it is for others Kit…"

Naruto puzzled this statement, but decided to let it slide; Kyuubi loved to throw physiological stuff at him and figured this was one of those moments. Now he focused his energy on getting up, his human muscles already protesting from sleeping on the ground in this form. The morning light had crept into the cave and birds were trying their best to wake the rest of the village. He slowly stretched, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed clothes sitting on the other side of the fire pit.

"No treatment today?" Naruto joked.

"If you had not over slept there may have been, however, I just told her to leave it."

Naruto moved to change, the ones from the night before were completely ruined from being slept in on the cave floor. This one was shorter, wonderful for running, and the sleeves did not reach past his hands, but stopped short of his writs. It was forest green and came with leggings that stopped at the knees, tying at the ankles again.

"Is this for the hunt?" Naruto asked as he attached an armor plate to his chest.

"It is just a precaution. If you retransformed on accident or purposely, it can protect you. There should be no need for it, however." Kyuubi explained as he struggled to tie his wrap around his black kimono.

Naruto rolled his eyes then swatted Kyuubi's hands from the wrap. Obviously ruling for thousands of years had tampered with some of the Foxes survival skills. He fastened the demon kings own armor and chuckled.

"Alright Kyuu, your all set to slay evil demons."

The larger male snorted, then headed towards the cave mouth, Naruto followed suit. It was chilly outside, the morning light making the opening appear to be gold. There were demons, still in human form, gathered in the clearing staring up the cave ledge. Naruto could see Sukuriyu and Shigure standing below, waiting in front of the crowd. It seemed Kyuubi also noticed because he spoke up.

"Naruto… you must be careful. Love is different in the demon world, it is more based on instincts. If one of these males prove to be a suitable mate for you, you will be quickly drawn to him. Since you are half human, however, you may not be as affected by it; I assume you will be able to feel the difference between the two though. Be on guard, you do not want to fully except a mate, especially since these are both males."

Naruto remained composed, he was still in the presence of the village, "How would I accept?"

"A kiss on the lips. It joins the two in their most vulnerable state, exposing a weakness for enemies; their mate."

Naruto gulped one last breath of air before Kyuubi transformed. The demon Lord reared his head back and roared, which caused the people to also transform and head straight for the woods. The hunt was on.

Naruto walked down to join Shigure and Sukuriyu, noticing that they had not run with the others.

"Hello Naru-chan, you look fine today." Shigure smirked and swished his tail mischievously. Naruto felt his ears slide back to his head at the sound of the nickname, bristling at the thought of it becoming permanent.

"I'm quite aware, you can pick your jaw up anytime Shi-kun." Naruto taunted back, satisfied when Shigure flinched at is own name.

"Good morning Prince." Naruto turned his attention to the other fox, giving him a pointed smile. He almost laughed when he saw Shigure's lips curl for a second. The other boy, while still taller then himself, fell short 3 inches to Sukuriyu.

"I assumed you had never been on this sort of hunt before and thought to accompany you." Sukuriyu continued, beginning to walk towards the end of the clearing.

" We would not want anything to attack such a beautiful mate." Shigure piped as he moved to match their steps. Naruto blushed, damn him. Could he have not just socked him when they first met?

"Let me show you who needs protecting." Naruto smirked then slipped into his fox form and took off for the woods, both males close behind.

Jiraiya puffed out a breath of air as he reentered the small hospital room. Some nurses were just no fun.

Team 7 had been called on a small mission to a nearby town, so he had been "Asked" to watch the runt.

"You see that kid? That was just cold." he smiled broadly as he slumped into a chair by the window, keeping his eyes trained on the outside world.

"Yupe, women are cruel creatures kid. But you just can't live without em! He laughed. A cough sounded behind him and he looked back to see a nurse standing in the door way.

"Hello 'Sir', I'm here to give the patient his shot." Jiraiya jumped up and leaned on the door frame, flashing his winning smile.

"Well, why don't I just handle that for you young lady? Can't have you over working yourself." he gently took the needle from the nurse's hands and waved for her to leave. She laughed then gladly strolled down the hallway, Jiraiya watching her swagger past the corner.

He whistled softly, "You just missed an 8 boy!"

Jiraiya laughed and threw the needle in the trash can. Unfortunately, this also gave him the chance to glace at the non respective boy. Naruto's head rested on three pillows and his breathing was slow and even; he looked like a fallen angel with the pink from the sunset seeping into the closed window curtains. Angels, however, were not as sad.

The old sensei sighed and retrieved his chair from the window, setting it beside the bed. He pulled the kid toward him, Naruto would hate haven to lye on his back so much. Now the blondes hands rested under his chin and his body was turned towards his sensei. Jiraiya wondered if this was how the boy would normally sleep… probably not. Kid probably slept sprawled out, taking as much space as he could.

Jiraiya laughed at the image and laid a hand on the boys head, "Selfish."

Selfish… he was not the one that was selfish.

Jiraiya thought back to the day he had first met the kid. His old sensei, rest his soul, had called him; he was the god father after all. The Hokage had thrust the small child in his arms before he could say anything and before he could react the little baby had opened its big blue eyes. Instead of the cry he had expected, the infant giggled and stretched it body up, reaching for Jiraiya's own eyes. He loved him immediately. He had laughed and cooed softly to Naruto, cradling him close.

Just as quickly as he had loved him, however, his silent tears had begun to flow down his cheeks.

That nose, that hair, those eyes; they all belonged to another too. He had failed to protect Minato, someone he had begun to think of as a son. How was he suppose watch over his son?

Jiraiya now regretted not being strong enough to take the boy back then, to love him like he deserved . He gently ran his fingers through Naruto's hair, smiling sadly.

"Sorry kid…"

A soft knock thankfully interrupted Jiraiya's thoughts and he directed his attention back to the door.

"What happened."

Jiraiya flinched at the dangerous eyes glaring at him, it was not a question.

"Mission gone wrong, kids been in a coma ever since. Why do you want to know?" Jiraiya answered tiredly.

"We keep in contact, when I did not receive word back from him I came to check on him. How long has he been like this?"

Jiraiya sighed, "A long time."

"Make sure no one disturbs him." with that the stranger turned to leave.

"Wait!"

The kid stopped, and Jiraiya stared, contemplating about contacting Tsunade. "Your just like Naruto… aren't you?"

Sea foam green eyes closed, now becoming completely black.

"All the more reason for me to bring him back." Gaara said before he completely left Jiraiya alone with the blonde once again.

Freedom. The forest had always been his escape, and running through the woods on four legs at full speed only made it better.

Naruto crept under a bush and studied the small rabbit. He was not quite sure what was required for the ceremony, but as long as he caught something he was happy. Before he could attack, a black streak shot from above the bush and pounced onto the unsuspecting animal.

"Hey! Foul, foul!" Naruto kicked out from under the plant, fur standing on end, "I thought I told you not to touch my prey again!"

Sukuriyu placed the rabbit on the ground gently and had what seemed like a smirk on his fox face, "If it keeps stealing you attention, I will have to do it again."

Once again, Naruto was grateful for the fur that covered his cheeks. Sukuriyu laughed then let out a sharp yip. Before Naruto could ask why he had done so, an odd fox dropped from the tree limbs. He was carrying a basket full with animals, but he picked this one up and added it to his burden. Before leaving he nodded to the black foxes then bowed deeply towards Naruto.

Naruto stared as the demon took to the limbs again. What had made the encounter odd was the fox. The demon looked like any other in human form, however, this one had the hind legs of a fox to go with his ears and tail. Naruto puzzled over the possibility of another form, the decided to ask Kyuubi about it later.

Something like a grunt sounded behind Naruto's shoulder, Shigure waltzed out from the bushes, seemingly amused. "Small game is… interesting and all, but why do we not give the young Prince a real challenge?"

Naruto's fox ears perked at the thought, but Sukuriyu glared back at the other black fox. "It is dangerous, Kyuubi-sama will be very displeased if something were to happen."

Shigure only swished his tail at the comment, Naruto twitched at the lack of confidence in Sukuriyu's voice.

"Come on, I can handle myself. I would love to eat something other then rabbit at my ceremony." Naruto turned in a small circle, slowly, and walked away, making sure his tail slipped across the bottom of Sukuriyu's muzzle. He knew he had won when he felt the other foxes head almost stretch when his tail slipped away and a low rumble echoed in Sukuriyu's throat. Shigure's eyes glinted and Naruto could almost see the laughter in those ruby eyes.

"Fine. We shall see what we come across, for your happiness Prince." Sukuriyu finally uttered.

Naruto hopped happily then trotted into the forest, both foxes flanking either side. If he knew earlier how easy it was to manipulate these foxes he would have tried it hours ago! The two males eyes roamed the trees, ears ready, but Naruto also noticed their stares would constantly flash to the others. Completion, it seemed. Naruto chuckled, pleased at the attention he had always wanted now directed towards him. The feeling was short lived, however, when Naruto suddenly felt a tail run up his hind leg, across his bottom, and twine around his tail.

Before he could respond, however, Sukuriyu snapped his jaws over the blondes back at Shigure. Both stood perfectly still , locked in a battle of gazes. Naruto was sure the two were just about to tear at one another, when the sound of a snapped twig interrupted the silence.

All three foxes quickly dropped to the ground, and listened for more movement. Now a snort echo through the forest, a snort like a deer.

Naruto peered through a laurel bush and spotted the animal. A tall buck was searching the trees, alert for danger. He glanced at Sukuriyu; the black fox pointed to the ground with his nose, indicating himself, then touched Naruto's neck with his jaws, showing that he would attack the throat. Shigure looked to the ground then looked back at him, indicating the both of them, then put a paw on Naruto's back and let his claws touch the blondes fur, they were to demobilize the deer. Naruto bowed his head in agreement, then stiffened his muscles for action.

Sukuriyu roared and dove from the bush, quickly latching onto the deer. Shigure and Naruto immediately jumped for the animal's back before it could scream. Suddenly, another roar ripped through the air and what felt like a tree sent the deer and the foxes flying.

Naruto gasped as he hit the ground, momentarily disoriented. He saw the deer had taken most of the impact and now lay dead, a side of its ribs caved in on itself. Sukuriyu was crouched on the ground. Growling fiercely, Shigure was in the same position. Then another growl interrupted, and Naruto finally saw what had hit them. A huge black bear stood on its hind legs, towering over the foxes.

"What the hell?" Naruto yelled.

"We must have attacked the bears intended prey!" Shigure barked.

The bear swayed back and forth, as if debating what to do next. It locked its eyes on Naruto, probably because of his outrageous fur he thought, and charged.

"Naruto move!"

Sukuriyu grabbed Naruto by the back of his neck and rolled them before the bear's claws could make contact.

Shigure took this chance to jump on the bear, digging his teeth into any fur he could. The monster quickly threw the black fox away like a fly and slashed its massive paws across the ground. Shigure dodged by jumping over the paws, and quickly dove for the bears neck.

"Prince hold your position." Sukuriyu barked then also struck for the bear, instead going for its hind legs. Once again the bear just threw them away, both yelped as they hit the ground hard. The bear returned its attention back to the blonde fox now left alone, it reared back on its two hind legs then threw itself in Naruto's direction.

"Kyuubi!" Naruto yelled, trapped within the bears range. Suddenly Sukuriyu reappeared in front of Naruto and threw him away with his own body. The black fox jumped over the bear and scratched one of its eyes before rebounding off its back to land in front of the blonde again.

"Suku-"

"I shall not leave you again Prince." Sukuriyu crouched low, growling at the distracted bear. Shigure was once again circling the bear, trying to find an opening. The bear tried to swipe at him, but he only dodged.

"Shigure protect Naruto!" Sukuriyu barked as the creature moved closer to the two stationary foxes.

"You distract him while I kill it!" Shigure barked back. Suddenly he ran towards the two, the bear in tow.

"Shigure!" Naruto watched in horror as Shigure dove to the side and the bear kept coming. He had created his own distraction, giving the beast prey.

Sukuriyu dove for the bear head first, "Prince move!" but Naruto could only watch as the bear grabbed Sukuriyu with its claws. The black fox yelped as claws entered fur and blood escaped.

"Naruto!"

Naruto had enough time to see the beast throw the black fox into a tree as Shigure latched onto its jugular before he was lifted by a red tail.

Kyuubi jumped back and covered Naruto with his body. Shigure was still clamped onto the bear, blood flowing from its throat. It shook its body to and fro, trying to rid itself of the fox, but Shigure held strong. The monster let out a final gurgled cry from its struggling before it dropped to the ground dead. The black fox wiggled free from under the beast and was suddenly surrounded by chakra. It flowed around him quickly, glowing bright red and almost white as its speed increased, until it began to take a solid form. When it disappeared Shigure now stood with two black tails. He swished them and let out a shocked laugh.

"A two tailed beast? Prince loo-" Naruto flew past him, now in human form.

"Sukuriyu?" the other fox had retransformed and now lay in a heap at the base of the tree. Naruto carefully turned the male over, and gasped at the damage. Blood soaked the kimono and Naruto knew there was broken ribs under the unseen flesh.

"Prin-ce?" Sukuriyu hissed, blood trailing from his lips. The tree he had struck was missing bark and Naruto wondered if it was slightly off balance now from the force. He glared at the tree, childishly hating it for being there in the first place. Naruto's Tears landed on the black foxes face, this had happened because of him. He stroked the black fox ears and wiped the blood from the other males chin.

"Do… not cry… I go.. Protecting a love." Sukuriyu smiled slowly and reached a hand to Naruto's cheek, the beautiful purple of his eyes already dimming. Naruto nuzzled into the hand and silently sobbed more.

A crowd had had now formed around them, "Naruto?" he felt Kyuubi's hand on his shoulder but shrugged it off, feeling his own body shake.

"Shut up. Don't talk like that, your gonna live stupid." Naruto choked, more blood had seeped through the wounds on the other males chest and covered Naruto's kimono. The males skin had paled, making the blood look even more imposing.

Sukuriyu only smiled, "As.. You wish."

Naruto shook his head, as if denying weakness of those broken words, then leaned closer, "Just live.. Ok?" and he softly kissed his protestors lips.

Suddenly Naruto felt his own chakra flare with his sadness and anger, he begged, pleaded for the healing ability Kyuubi's chakra had always given him, praying to give it all to Sukuriyu now. This demon had risked his life for him, no other had ever done so. He did not deserve to die because of another's mistakes, because he was to weak to save himself. He refused to believe that life could be so cruel to him once again and begged for the sky to grieve for him.

As if granted, Sukuriyu's breathing slowly increased and he felt the fox respond to his kiss, harshly pressing against his. Naruto shot back and saw green chakra wrapping around the male in front of himself. He moved the kimono aside carefully and saw the deep gashes slowly sealing, leaving a faint scar in their place. Gasps filled the air at the same time and the crowd immediately began to whisper.

"The Prince possesses the healing power!"

"It is a sign of good fortune!"

Sukuriyu sat up and ran his hand over his chest, clearly confused. "You… you have the Kitsune Kiss?" he asked.

**YAY! I finally got it done, thanks to the AP course finally being over x3! I don't think this is very well written, kind of rushed sounding, but I hope u guys enjoying it anyway. Maybe 1 or 2 chapters left, I have not decided yet. Loved the reviews, I read over them all a couple weeks ago and ended up writing 6 pages because of them xD Can't wait for ya'll to read the upcoming chapters!**


	8. Chapter 8

The forest was deadly silent, however, all eyes rested on one figure.

Naruto sat perfectly still, his eyes never leaving Sukuriyu, afraid of what may happen if he disturbed the silence. What had he done? They now saw him as different, odd, and not right. He had blown it; they would reject him like everything else. Demons did not save lives they ended them.

Suddenly the quite was interrupted as Kyuubi cleared his throat, "It seems we have much more to celebrate this afternoon. Everyone, back to the village, there is a feast to prepare!"

The other foxes roared their approval and ran to obey, many glancing back at the blonde boy with what Naruto hoped was not hate. He also watched as Shigure left, slower then the others, his eyes trained on Naruto and Sukuriyu.

"Sukuriyu, go back to the village and rest. This is Naruto's first healing and we do not know how well it was." Kyuubi suggested.

Sukuriyu nodded and stood slowly, cautious of his healed wounds. Naruto stood as well, ready to catch the other if the wounds did not hold. Their eyes met and the blonde swallowed a sob that threatened to claw from his throat. Someone finally wanted him, had needed him, and now he could have just screwed it up! Instead of Sukuriyu turning away, however, the other fox would not look away from him. His eyes searched Naruto's face, seemingly confused. He gently took Naruto's hand and kissed it, his lips lingering on the boy's fingers, "Until tonight my Prince."

Naruto felt his face flush as he watch Sukuriyu transform and jog towards the village. He turned to Kyuubi when the fox was out of sight to ask his opinion. Suddenly exhaustion washed through his body and he felt the world whirl around him. Before he was lost to the darkness, Naruto saw the most amazing look upon the Demon Lords face; pride.

Never in his many years, has this demon seen such a kit. Even in the human world all should have seen the wonders that followed this being, the fools were to blind however, and as far as he was concerned this world was better with him. He gently cradled the boy in his arms and headed back to the village to give the kid his first festival.

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he felt his senses return to him, also bringing sore muscles.

He opened his eyes and found himself back in the den, lying on the cave floor. He peered around the place, afraid he had been abandoned, but found Kyuubi walking towards him and carrying a large bundle.

"So you have awakened? Good after using so much charka, I feared we would have to cancel the festivities." Kyuubi chuckled and unceremoniously dumped the load on Naruto.

"What is the kitsune kiss?" Naruto asked as he fumbled with the clothes. Kyuubi was already dressed in a black kimono with an outline of a koi fish swimming down one side. The fish scales seemed to flash from gold to red as the Fox Lord moved. His hair was braided loosely down his back with a gold link strapped at the bottom.

"Did you know Kit, that in the human world fox demons are known for bringing bad luck?" Kyuubi asked.

Naruto felt himself slip, memories of accusations pointed towards him for no reason trying to surface.

"In the human world fox demons are seen as omens because bad luck follows them. There is some truth to it, however; fox demons draw energy in the other world to survive. Many will marry a human to keep that constant drain. While not harmful, it can be turned into it in the wrong hands."

Naruto stared at Kyuubi, not understanding where he was going.

"A kitsune kiss has the opposite effect. The vampire trait is reversed on command and all the stored energy can be used to heal instead. It is a rare and revered gift among foxes because it is seen as a sign of a good ruling."

The blonde had dressed while Kyuubi spoke and now wore a kimono that began as a greenish blue on top then melted into a blue at the bottom. A silver outline of a butterfly graced the bottom right corner.

"So... they don't hate me?" the boy asked, holding his breath.

Kyuubi burst into laughter, causing Naruto's jaw to drop, "Hate you? They think you are Kami sent!" he continued to chuckle as he clipped a silver chocker around Naruto's neck.

"Um… are you trying to say something?" Naruto asked indicating at his outfit.

The Demon Lord rolled his eyes at the boy, "The butterfly has always symbolized a kitsune kiss, I had it made for you."

Somehow Naruto did not believe him, but as Kyubbi began to walk towards the mouth of the cave the boy followed none-the-less. The sun had just set, leaving the sky in its twilight state. Hyper foxes echoed their voices throughout the clearing, all running towards the center. Small lanterns hung from the trees around the area with what seemed like fireflies within them. In the distance Naruto could see the glow of a fire over the tops of what looked like tapestries. He looked at the large fox confused, but only got a shrug back.

"I wanted it to be a surprise…" he answered, looking towards the right.

Naruto felt butterflies flutter in his gut and he wiggled his tail, covering his mouth as giggles over the Demon Lords embarrassment. Kyuubi gently swatted his head and growled, but only caused more laughter to escape.

"Look at our Kyuubi-sama, such a wonderful father."

"Yes it is wonderful that he has returned. Hopefully he will want more children!"

Naruto peered in the darkness in searching for the speakers, wondering if Kyuubi would really give him other children to play with, then blushing at the thought. Many flocked towards the middle of the clearing and as they got closer Naruto could make out more faces. Suddenly the blonde spotted the demon with the hind legs of a fox, reminding him of his questions from earlier.

"Hey Kyuu, are there different forms I can transform into?" Naruto asked tilting his head towards the demon.

"Ah, no. That boy is a hanyou, a half demon. Many demons will travel to the human world and sometimes, for honest or selfish reasons, mate with a human. Some will rear a monk's or powerful warriors child to create a stronger demon. These foxes are usually blessed with gifts and are very treasured among my people. They cannot, however, transform into another form. Some are born looking completely human, others will have fox traits."

Naruto rolled the idea in his mind, intrigued "How did I not count as a half demon?"

"The seal placed on you was designed to allow my charka to combine with yours. While this has affected many of your habits, it has also made into something close to a full demon. My charka was strong, your young body had to adapt by transforming itself." Kyuubi answered carefully, knowing how the kit might react.

The smaller fox considered this; strangely it did not bother him as much as he had thought. He was basically born like this, he had never been any other way and this was who he was. Why should he hate himself for it now? Here, it did not matter, here, he was everything right just for being alive. So instead he beamed up at Kyuubi, waging his tail and perking his ears to the fullest. This caused the Lord to smirk and place a hand on Naruto's shoulder, guiding him under the tapestry.

The fire was actually a bonfire in the middle of the gathering; many foxes were already dancing around it. There were demons at one side playing music from instruments Naruto could not name; the beat was fast and enticing. A huge table had been constructed with smaller ones set near it. All foxes were in their human form, dressed in beautiful kimonos of their own. The children ran around excitedly without their parents, wearing fox masks.

The blonde looked around for familiar faces, still nervous of their reactions. He spotted Akari by her father; she blushed and waved at him. He looked up at Kyuubi and he nodded, so Naruto walked over to the girl.

"Hello Akiri-chan."

The small girl wore a light purple kimono with white cherry blossoms falling towards the bottom. Her hair was pulled back with fluffy flowers holding it together. The bangs and lavender eyes set off her pale skin cutely, Naruto vaguely wondered what she would look like with it short hair.

"He-hello Naruto-san. Congratulations on your new talent." She answered back, looking at her bare feet.

Suddenly Naruto realized he had recognized Akari, even though she had not been in her fox form. He glanced around quickly and noticed a boy with bushy brown hair, but somehow knew that was the brown fox that had first spoken to him at the fighting grounds. As he looked more he saw others that he could tell were also from earlier.

"Naruto-san?"

Naruto blinked then looked back to the small girl, he flushed at being caught.

"Ugh… sorry, I was just amazed at how many people I recognized. We did not transform often where I come from."

Akari smiled and looked around herself, "My little sister did say something about you coming from the ice lands. I'm sure you all slept together to keep warm and were use to the others smells, while here we all have such different scents. Your mind is just reregistering what your eyes have not yet."

Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. That answer was fine with him.

"Yes, I suppose so. So what do you guys do around here to celebrate?" Naruto laughed.

"Dance." Someone said behind Naruto's shoulder.

He turned to see Shigure standing behind him. The other male was dressed in a dark blue kimono with red squares on the sleeves and bottom. His long hair danced unruly about his shoulders, a smirk graced his features.

"Would you honor your slayer with a dance Naruto?" he asked holding out his hand.

Naruto glanced at Akari; she smiled and nodded slightly, "Sure."

As Shigure led the blonde towards the bonfire the beat changed to a fast melody, attracting many other dancers. Suddenly Naruto was pulled close and Shigure led dance. He whirled Naruto around the fire in a dance just as fierce as the foxes fighting style, feeling the challenge, Naruto matched with his own fluid movements. At one moment their hands would barley touch as Shigure twirled Naruto away and back, then at other times Naruto would be flush against the other male as he swayed them to the music. The boy laughed as Shigure spun them around, feeling a rush come over him.

"Your pretty good kid." He laughed and pulled Naruto close, winding his tail around the smaller boy.

Two tails; Naruto gulped as he remembered how the other fox had acquired them. He stumbled backwards away from the male, this fox was willing to do anything to increase his power, and he had not needed him for it so he had risked his life. Somewhere in his mind Naruto could feel a warning of familiarity screaming at him, he just knew how this could end.

Naruto moved back again when the boy reached for him, but bumped into something behind him.

Arms wrapped around him to keep them both steady, "Hello Prince." Sukuriyu smiled down at the boy in his arms.

Naruto blushed and straightened himself. Sukuriyu was wearing a white kimono with violet hexagons sweeping across the bottom. His black hair had been half braided like Naruto had fixed it in the field.

"Ah! Did I hurt you? How are your wounds?"

Sukuriyu chuckled and shook his head, amused at the blondes fretting. A growl interrupted the moment, however, drawing the boy's attention back to the other male.

"Excuse me, but _we_ were dancing." Shigure glowered from behind Naruto.

"Really? Well it looks like your done to me." Sukuriyu growled back.

If they had been in fox form Naruto knew their fur would be standing on end.

"Hn. To bad your opinion does not matter." The red eyed male said and stood closer to the blonde.

"Yes, well only one does. What do you think Naruto, may I cut in?" Sukuriyu smiled and turned his attention back to the boy in question.

Naruto felt his face grow hot as the male reached a hand out. He took it shyly, aware that the decision was only his now. Sukuriyu smiled and whirled Naruto away into another dance. He was led around the fire in a series of twirls, the other male keeping a certain distance between them to keep the boy comfortable. Naruto, however, took this as being seen as fragile. To prove otherwise, when Shigure spun him away and back again, Naruto made sure not to stop until he was less then a few centimeters apart. Sukuriyu blinked then chuckled, causing Naruto to grin playfully. They continued to challenge each other until the music finally stopped and the blonde was lowered into a dip.

The fox was close, so close Naruto could smell the bit of sweat the dance had caused. The other male's gaze caused Naruto heart to jump, what if he tried to kiss him? He thought back to the forest, when he had accidentally healed the larger demon. Kyuubi had warned him a kiss was an acceptance towards a proposal, so what had that been?

Naruto's eyes widened as he wondered what the kiss had meant to the other male and what he was doing now. A low growl echoed from deep with in the black foxes throat and he closed his eyes. Sukuriyu took a few deep breaths then straightened them both, letting Naruto go. He coughed then smiled at the small boy.

"May I talk with you Prince?"

Naruto hesitated a moment but nodded, following the male away from all the hustle towards the outer field. Fireflies lingered in the air, probably looking for their brothers now trapped in jars. Naruto frowned and made a mental note to check that all were returned to nature. He giggled as one decided to land on his kimono, causing Sukuriyu to stop. He smirked and rolled his eyes, teasing Naruto of his silliness. Then he gestured for the boy to sit.

"I wanted to properly thank you for the healing. I am grateful that you chose me for your first and am indebted to you my Prince." Sukuriyu said as he gazed at the stars above.

Naruto looked as well, he had never seen so many stars in his life. They shined a violet pink and seemed to be trying to gain the attention of the blood moon.

"Your not indebted to me. It would have never happened if I had just been satisfied with small game."

Sukuriyu laughed, but kept his gaze at the sky, "Do not blame yourself Prince. It could have happened to anyone, me and Shigure should have been more aware, should have known what could have happened, should this or that. Either way, what's done is done, but what you did changed fates thread."

Naruto felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders, but why? How could this male not blame him? No one had ever not, so why was it so different here? He searched the stars for answers, tracing the dipper and the belt, hoping they had all the wisdom of watching these silly things for years.

"The kiss." Sukuriyu looked back at Naruto who's eyes had found something quite interesting, "What…What was it for you?" Do you consider me as yours?" he peeked shyly but found the others gaze back at the sky.

They sat there in silence for a moment, just staring at the night-lights. He wondered how he could sit here quietly with another person; this usually caused his nerves to control his mouth.

"Yes, I suppose others would try that. I will admit when it happened I wanted it to be that way, but then I saw that scared look in your eyes. I knew that this was something that just might push you back to your home village. You are Kyuubi-sama's son, it was your duty to protect your clan members, nothing more."

"Oh." Naruto looked at the grass beneath him, a swirl of emotions flowing within him. Suddenly he felt another tail brush against his and the other males hand over lap his own. The blonde looked up to see those violet eyes finally looking at him.

"Unless you want it to be…"

Naruto felt his cheeks burn as Sukuriyu leaned closer. The other male hesitated when he was at least three inches from Naruto's nose, giving the boy opportunity to move, but Naruto could not find the strength to move. His mind screamed for him to stop the other male, but he only succeeded in fluttering his eyes closed as Sukuriyu neared once again.

"Kit?"

Naruto jerked back, slightly shoving Sukuriyu away. Kyuubi strolled towards the two, a smirk on his face.

"It is time for the feast kit." The Demon Lord looked as if he was holding in laughter.

Sukuriyu hopped up and offered a hand to the blonde before he could do the same, "May I honor myself with your presence at this feast Prince?"

Naruto rolled his eyes but took the hand anyway.

**Sorry for the wait, computer crashed and deleted my files and Microsoft. Took forever to get that loaded back on without the disk o.o but I typed it all on my sisters laptop when she was not home XD I dedicate this chapter to **Orannis4 and KitsuneDango, **their comments really got me to sneak around and finish it. More chapters soon since I have had this part basically planned out since I wrote chp 1! If there are any mistakes please tell me x3**


	9. Chapter 9

The forest seemed to vibrate from the yelps and howls of excited demons.

Naruto wondered if he had died and gone to heaven as he gazed at the at the food lining the table; meats of all kind had been cooked and spiced, leaving a wondrous aroma, fruit and vegetables decorated around them. If there had been ramen he would swore death had in fact taken him.

The blonde had been seated beside Kyuubi, who was currently engaged in conversation with many different women, at the head of the table. Sukuriyu took the seat nearest him and Shigure beside the violet-eyed fox, glaring at him. Naruto smiled happily, he had never been so comfortable around a crowd and loved the two foxes competition.

Suddenly Sukuriyu tugged on a piece of Naruto's hair, trying to get his attention.

"Do not get lost Prince."

Naruto blushed and mumbled while the black fox smirked, clearly pleased with himself. To distract Naruto from the food, they were not allowed to eat until Kyuubi had taken the first bite, Sukuriyu explained what certain food was and suggested his favorites. Naruto flattened his fox ears as his stomach grumbled again, earning a chuckle from the other fox.

Before the boy could voice his opinion, however, it suddenly became quite; Kyuubi stood and clapped his hands together, all eyes shifted towards the bonfire. Naruto watched as six people approached the fire, all dressed in short white kimonos. At first he thought they were half-breeds, but then he realized it was masks on the demons faces and had to keep himself from giggling.

"The entertainment." Sukuriyu whispered to the blonde.

The foxes began to dance around the bonfire elegantly to the sound of flutes. Sukuriyu explained the dance as a story and deciphered each moves meaning to him. Naruto watched in wonder as one male removed his mask to dance the part of a human, his movements changing to a rougher and faster beat compared to the ones with fox masks, one female matched his pace but fluid and gracefully.

Sukuriyu recited the legend of the fox goddess, Inari, falling in love with a human after he saved her from a bear trap. The romance unfolded as Inari led the man to the world of demons and she bore him many hanyous. The man, however, aged much faster then Inari and old age soon consumed him in only a couple of years. Inari had fallen to his deathbed, swearing she would join him in the afterlife, until her lover asked for his own promise. He asked Inari to live 1,00 years for each of their children and teach them all she could. So the goddess did, after each 1000th year passed the child she stayed for would become a full demon, the ancestors of all fox demons. Once the ninth and final child had gained its knowledge Inari released herself into the stars here her love waited, now bearing a tail for each child to share with their Father.

Naruto howled with the small children as the story ended, "Inari" and her love striking a final dip, and giggled as Sukuriyu rolled his eyes.

Before the next dance Kyuubi filled his plate and indicated for Naruto to as well. After they had both finished at least one item the other foxes joined and the celebration really began.

Naruto had expected it to be a formal affair, but the people talked loudly and wrestled with one another for food. Sukuriyu piled food on the blonde's plate while Naruto asked about the people around him. Soon the dancers took to the floor again and spice was thrown into the flames to change its color, momentarily causing the forest to become purple. The performers danced with fire this time to the tune of drums, it seemed like the fire in their hands was coming from nowhere.

"How?" Naruto whispered to Kyuubi.

"Its called foxfire, many kitsune can-" Before Kyuubi finished his statement another fox approached and bowed respectfully. The man leaned towards the Demon Lord and whispered quietly, causing confusion to pass Kyuubi's eyes before he smirked.

"Kit, there seems to be another demon heading towards our border. They say it is about your size and not wide as its species usually are. Would you like to take care of it?"

Naruto stared at the nine tails as if he had two heads, however, he also thought of the significance attached to this request.

"You would not have to kill it, only give it a warning or chase it off." Kyuubi smiled as he pushed further.

This time Naruto grinned proudly and nodded.

"If you run north from here you will find a break in the trees to a meadow and creek, this is where the demon approaches."

The blonde excused himself from Sukuriyu, who wore a similar smirk to Kyuubi's, and slipped into his fox form.

The run did not take long; as Naruto began to smell running water he slowed to a fast walk, trying to keep his footsteps quite. The light fox peered through the leafs of a bush and saw the demon. It was a red shukaku, no bigger then he, pacing the boarder of Kyuubi's land. The other demon had not sensed the fox yet because it was so intent on its walking, so Naruto slowly crept out from behind the plant growling.

The shukaku immediately stopped pacing and crouched into a defensive possession, hissing back. The two circled one another slowly, waiting for an opening or first strike. The shukaku's fur seemed to be denser and harder then Naruto's fox fur, it's paws bigger. It did not seem to have as big of claws as he, but its tail appeared to be formidable in size.

Suddenly the fox sped forward, charging the raccoon; he snapped at the demon's neck, the other jumping backwards before Naruto's fangs could connect and rammed the fox. Naruto rolled as the raccoon hopped back and the two stared, muscles tense for the next strike. The raccoon hissed and sped across the boarder into Kyuubi's land, Naruto ran beside it to block; the two mirrored each other moves as the shukaku tried to slide past the fox. Naruto hissed and the shukaku pounced at him, causing him to fall on his back to kick the demon off. The blonde charged the raccoon as it landed back on the ground, ready to kill the other, but the raccoon swept its tail in front of its body defensively. The fox scratched what felt like shell when he hit the tail. The shukaku quickly used their proximity to clamp its teeth into Naruto's fur, but missed his vitals.

Naruto flipped them, kicking the demon's under belly to shake it off. Why was it being so defensive? Suddenly a sense of familiarity passed as he glimpsed the red demon's green eyes. Sea-foam green eyes.

"G- Gaara?"

The Shukaku licked Naruto's muzzle as he looked down at the demon trapped beneath him.

"Gaara!" Naruto yipped as Gaara playfully kicked the fox off.

"Should have known it was you, same damn color as your hair." Gaara shook his fur and slumped to the ground.

"How did you get here?" Naruto barked happily, running circles around the raccoon.

The fox nipped Gaara's ear, earning a growl and snap back, then rubbed his cheek against the raccoon's. Gaara was use to this sort of closeness from the Kyuubi container. Gaara himself felt the urge to do such things, but understood when such actions were appropriate. Sometimes the blonde would grasp hands, touch his friends arm when speaking, or sit as close as he could to another when eating. Naruto, like many containers, sought the love and affection they did not receive as children.

"You seem…well." Gaara spoke as he finally calmed Naruto into sitting.

"Oh! Well Kyuubi has been introducing me into the clan and, and I have met so many other demons! Everyone is very nice and they are holding a ceremony for me-"

"Naruto" Gaara interrupted, "How long have you been here?"

"Three days maybe." The fox waged his tale excitedly, "Why?"

The other male sat quietly for a moment, staring at the blonde, "You have been gone for almost two months Naruto."

"What… no, it has only been-"

"From the human world Naruto, remember?"

Naruto blinked, the human? Images of pink hair, a sarcastic smile, and even lame excuses flashed through his mind.

"Sa-sasuke? Sakura? What happened…how did you get here?"

"I enter the demon world when ever I fall asleep, allowing Shukaku to take my place in the human world. Currently he is in the deepest part of the Suna desert closely watched by my siblings. You, however, have been in a coma for more then two months after an accident on a mission."

Memories of hot pain and crying ringed in Naruto's mind, then darkness. The fox pushed these thoughts away, horrified.

"The longer you remain in the demon world the more you will forget. Your mind cannot handle two worlds." Gaara said softly.

Naruto gulped, "They… they want me here…" the boy whispered, "You wouldn't believe it Gaara, I'm sure they would accept you-"

"Naruto, I can not stay. I have duties to my family… your friends miss you."

The fox looked up sadly and Gaara forced himself to look away.

"I cannot force you to leave, if this is where you are happy. We need you, but you should not have to give up more for the people who do not want you…"

Naruto thought of his friends, already feeling his mind pulling the thoughts back to the wind. They were the first friends he had ever had. He strove to gain Sakura's attention, slowly seeing her accept his friendship; he had worked to bring Sasuke towards the light, still much more to go.

"Come with me… for tonight. Let me think tonight."

Gaara nodded and followed as Naruto trotted back towards the village.

The fox snuck them through the tree line around the clearing easily, all still at the festival.

"There's a kimono in the den if you want to change form, I'll be back soon."

Gaara watched the fox retreat from the cave, regretful of what he must have caused.

Naruto slipped back into his human form and made his way back to the center of the celebration. Demons turned to greet him as he passed, showering him with smiles and compliments. The feeling of dread pooled into his stomach the closer he got to Kyuubi.

"I trust all went well Prince?" Sukuriyu grinned up at the blonde.

Naruto's heart thumped painfully, "Of course it did, he's Kyuubi's after all." Shigure barked.

Naruto grinned, his mask uncomfortable on his lips once again.

Kyuubi looked at the boy and frowned, knowing the fake smile, "What is it Kit?"

"Gaara the Shukaku has come." He whispered to the Demon Lord, controlling his breathing, "It may be time."

Kyuubi cleared his throat the stood beside the blonde. All demons quieted as their Lord waited for their attention, "Thank you all for coming, but the dawn approaches and another hunt is on the way, foxes must not be tired for it."

Demons yipped and gathered their children happily, talk of the day's event filling the air.

"Come Kit."

As the two walked toward the cave, they were constantly being congratulated, invited to small events, or thanked. Naruto felt heart tighten, loving the people and world he was in. With the bonfire behind them darkened the fireflies filled the clearing like stars.

Kyuubi stopped at the foot of the den, "I must take care of something, I will see you in the cave."

Naruto watched as Kyuubi transformed into the huge fox and headed towards the trees. The blonde sighed and turned back to the sloped rocks.

"You are leaving are you not, Prince?"

Sukuriyu, barely visible in the darkness, leaned against one of the boulders below the cave, the bright violet eyes shining clearly.

Naruto slowly walked towards the male, finding himself unable to lie, "Maybe…"

The black demon reached out to take a couple of Naruto's fingers, "Will you return?"

The blonde leaned against the rock wall, suddenly emotionally tired, "I would like to…"

Sukuriyu moved until the two were only inches apart. Naruto's blood thrummed in his veins, everything screaming as that violet gaze met his blue.

The fox seemed to be biting his own cheek, fighting back words, "Can I…" he reached towards Naruto again, tracing the whisker marks, "Even if it means nothing yet, just…"

No longer able to contain himself, Naruto leaned on his toes and pressed his lips to the others.

Sukuriyu paused only for a moment, surprised, then wrapped his arms around the smaller males waist to pull him closer. Naruto fisted his fingers into the black foxes hair, musing the neat braid. Sukuriyu kissed roughly, desperately trying to convince the blonde fox not to leave, Naruto kissed back just as fiercely, trying to transfer understanding and forgiveness. The blonde could feel the others fangs as Sukuriyu nibbled his bottom lip, and allowed the black fox to explore deeper. A hand slid to Sukuriyu's chest as the other males roamed over his spine, almost like he was running it over fur.

They parted for lack of air, panting slightly. Blue met violet as the two stared at one another, not willing to break the connection. Sukuriyu began to kiss Naruto's lips again, short pecks to gain his interest again.

"Hn. Have to…go…hn, Kyuubi return." Naruto could feel his hands run back up to the black fox's hair, wanting desperately to pull him close again, but he resisted and turned his head away from Sukuriyu's lips.

"Naruto." Sukuriyu kissed the blondes neck and nuzzled his chin with his nose. Naruto could feel the male shake as he shut his eyes tight and forced himself to halt, "Yes…go."

Naruto turned and climbed onto a rock, preparing to bolt, but then a hand grabbed his own.

"When you return, I will take one for purpose." Sukuriyu said, his eyes warning of his seriousness, then kissed the hand his was gently holing before he walked back towards the forest.

"Gaara?" Naruto whispered as he entered the cave.

He spotted the raccoon in front of the fire pit now in human form; Gaara's ears were smaller then his own, but the same red color, the boys spiked tail wrapped arpund his legs protectively.

"Where's the Kyuubi?" Gaara asked as the blonde moved to sit next to the red head.

"Here." Both turned to see Kyuubi walk into the den, lighting the pit with his foxfire.

"Gaara rose respectively and explained how Naruto had come to the demon world and all that had transpired in his. Naruto paid no attention, replaying the evening in his mind.

"Kit?"

The fox looked towards the demon Lord, "I must return they need me, but.." the boy whispered.

Kyuubi closed his eyes and huffed, already knowing what he was sending his Kit back to, "I have heard tales over time about demon holders. They say once the human's life has ended in the human world the demon can bring the soul back to this world."

Naruto stared at Kyuubi, to afraid to hope.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes and ruffled the boy's ears, "You are also a ninja Kit. I am positive there will be other comas, especially with your antics."

The blonde turned towards Gaara, who had been listening intently, "Will you come Gaara?"

"Every time I fall asleep Shukaku sends me to the demon world for his clan to kill me, there by releasing himself, I have no doubt it will drag my soul back when the time comes." Gaara replied.

"You are always welcomed in my lands shukaku."

Gaara bowed to the demon gratefully, the turned back to Naruto, "We must go."

The sun had slowly climbed over the trees and morning mist was pouring into the cave mouth.

"How?" Naruto asked, keeping his eyes on the outside world.

"Let us leave the village, I have already chosen a second in command to watch over the people and he will tell the others of our return to the northern lands." Kyuubi interrupted as he headed towards the opening, the other two following behind him. Before they could slip into their demon forms, the Great fox stopped.

"I believe this is for you Kit."

Naruto peered around Kyuubi to find a bundle of forget-me-nots laying on the ledge. When the blonde reached for the flowers he caught the scent of the fox still clinging to the stems. Shigure.

Naruto smiled as he smelled the bundle, "Maybe there's hope…" he whispered.

The other demons looked at the blonde in confusion, but Naruto only offered a smirk then changed into the sun colored fox with blue flowers in its jaws.

"You don't want me to re-enter his mind do you?" Ino asked, slightly afraid.

Shikamaru gave the girl a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, "No, this is only a visit…"

Ino leaned into the touch, hoping the boy didn't notice, as she gazed down at the once vibrant blonde in the bed, "Sakura says Gaara of the sand came to see him."

Shikamaru stared at the blonde, calculating, then huffed, "Then I believe he will wake soon."

Ino turned her gaze towards her partner, knowing he was keeping something from her. But she only sighed and threw her arms around his neck instead, earning a surprised intake of breath and a red face from him, "The sun. Naruto is just like the sun." she giggled as Shikamaru squirmed in her hug, "He attracts everyone to him because of his warmth."

Shikamaru chuckled as he finally allowed the girl to hug him, "Is this why you brought him sunflowers?"

"Yes!" Ino chirped, " To remind him why he must come back to us! His poor friends seem lost."

"It's hard to find you way without the sun's light."

The sun was approaching the center of the sky when the trio finally stopped running. The group had remained quite during the trip, an unspoken sorrow hanging in the air.

Once they all transformed Kyuubi finally broke the silence, "This may be painful Kit. You are going to have to summon yourself into the human world, usually only a human can take something out."

"I will go now Naruto, come see me on the other side." Gaara nodded and closed his eyes.

Suddenly the boy just disappeared, as if he was never there, if Naruto had blinked he would have missed the small grimaced that flashed on the other lips.

"Now, you must concentrate on your world Kit. Pull you charka toward that memory until it pulls you back."

The blonde reached into his memory, pushing through the wall the demon world had created. Right now it would be threatening snow in the Fire country, the leaves gone from the trees, Sakura and Sasuke would bring out their long sleeves and he would take out his many comforters.

Suddenly what felt like a hook plunged into Naruto's shoulder; he screamed and sank to the ground holding his arm, but nothing was there.

"Shhh, its working Kit. Summoning is very painful but you can get through this." Kyuubi encouraged as he held the boys arms to support him.

More hooks pierced Naruto's body, pulling him in different directions as he continued to try and concentrate on Kohana. He wondered how long it would be until it tore him apart.

His eyes opened slowly, his body creaming from the hooks, bright light flooded his eyes and he had to put a hand up to block it.

Naruto froze as he looked at the fingers in front of him, the nails had grown into sharp claws. When he ran his tongue over his teeth he found his carnies shaper than a normal humans. The blonde groaned his he wondered what his whisker marks look like now.

Another groan caused his eyes to fly open and Naruto froze, afraid of what else was in the room with him. Slowly Naruto slid his gaze towards his other hand, which had now gained its feeling back and he could feel something wrapped around it; Sasuke's head rested on the edge of the bed, his body uncomfortably still in a chair beside the hospital bed, his hand holding Naruto's softly. The blonde smiled and quietly settled back into the bed, maybe there was still hope after all.

**So sorry for the long wait! This poor story has been lost, deleted, and even stolen by my sister. But after being snowed in for a week from school I was finally able to redo the chapter. Hope it was worth the wait x3 Yes, I am a big NejiNaru fan XD So Neji does win in the demon world, however, Sasuke does have the upper hand in the human, who will win? **


	10. Author's Note

**As the author of "Through Demon eyes", I would like to over the story as a moving point towards other writers. If someone would like to continue the story where it left off, rewrite it into longer chapters, use the characters or idea to begin their own story, or anything in between, as long as credit is given and I am informed I would be happy to agree. x3 I wrote this story because I have always wanted to see such created and decided to inspire the idea, I would love to read any like it or related! Please message if you are taking on this challenge! I hope all enjoyed and will leave a review if so.**

**The story has been adopted by the following authors:**

**Aicirret**

**Shoetsu Otaku**

**- love Shetia**


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